Ghostly, misted dawntimes
With ombre’d trees arrayed from grey to white
In rows against the edge of view
The sky all tracked in contrail scars of night
Shining up against the arching blue
Cool yet humid mornings
The turning leaves beginning to coat the ground
Their mulchy scent as heady as fruit cake
Green gives way as the world goes golden brown
It yawns, tired out, and only half-awake
Warm and glorious middays
Leafy highlights set in sizzling red
‘Gainst backdropped shining blue
Sun still warms my skin and heart and head
Feeling like the summer’s not quite through
Hot, sun-gilded afternoons
Like hot oil poured through halcyon air
The world now bathed in lazy, golden glow
With dandelion puffs lit here and there
Nature tips her hat – there’s more to show
Mild and early gloaming
Gentle, dusky colours fading fast
Beneath the gathering cosiness of dark
Once sunset’s final firework has been cast
The sentinel stars reveal their guardian spark
Anyone who knows me at all knows how very extremely averse I am to winter (and cold and rain) and so autumn is always a time of sadness for me, because the darkness is coming, the cold is on its way, and everything points to the inexorable advance of the world into my least favourite season. BUT. This autumn seems to be trying its damndest to be pretty and to win me over. So I wrote it a tribute in hopes that it will stay nice for ever.
The Well Tempered Bards 
It often amazes me that people can be sad in the fall. I understand that things are preparing for winter but death is such a paradoxical occurance at this time of the year… I mean when else is something dying off quite such a colorful experience? Either way… great poem my friend.
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Well, I guess there’s that way of looking at it, too. It’s the darkness which really gets to me most. Followed by the cold. And then (usually, in England) the rain.
Fireworks die pretty colourfully…
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I can almost smell the ‘mulchy scent’ of the leaves as they fall to the ground and whither. Great job on this poem.
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Thanks Linda! I walked past several areas of trees yesterday where the scent was almost tangible, and was just hanging in the air. It was nice, but also…not.
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That’s exactly what we are experiencing here now, the most glorious Autumn brought to life by you.
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Lovely. Where abouts are you? I’m glad I captured it well for you 🙂
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These lines really speak to me:
Green gives way as the world goes golden brown
It yawns, tired out, and only half-awake
I guess it’s how I feel in the morning when I have to let go of the night.
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Ohhh gosh me too! Mornings are no fun. Especially when the cool air outside makes your bed feel that much more cosy and appealing.
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Well, for someone who dislikes the season so much you certainly painted a gorgeous picture of it. This is the autumn in my imagination since it won’t ever look like that where I live. Beautifully done, friend. XX
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It’s been more like a milder version of summer than the usual toned-down version of winter, so I’m alright with it for now.
As for pictures of things I don’t like…writer, innit 😉 it’s what I do. But I don’t hate it at the moment. Glad you enjoyed he imagery, my DA ♡
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I’m the opposite. I love Autumn and hate winter. Yet I really love your poem. It has beautiful imagery!
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Thank you 🙂 I really struggle to like autumn. It’s been behaving very well this year, which helps. It’s usually full of rain and cold but we’ve been lucky.
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I like the picture you paint, Lizzi 🙂 Especially of the cool morning. Not very fond of heat 😛
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I suspect that your ‘heat’ and mine are vastly different. I’m not a fan of chilly. Not at all!
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Lovely imagery! You have painted it so well with all the moody colours of autumn. 🙂
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MOODY! Oh gosh, moody is SO right! That’s what’s on its way – all those miserable browns and dull orange mulchy stinky rainwashed grey drizzle YUCK! Bleah. I’m trying SO hard to like autumn. I’m glad you liked the imagery.
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I adore autumn, but of course that’s because it means something totally different where I live.
My favorite image in this post? The “ombre’d trees.” 🙂
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I think I’ve used ‘ombre’d trees’ before (I forget where) and it got a good response there, too, so I kind of borrowed my own idea! It works though.
What does it mean to you then, autumn?
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The end of samey-same boring California weather. The light changes, the 100+ degree temps start cooling down to normal, and also Halloween and pumpkin-y things. Halloween reminds me of being a kid like no other holiday does. I also love spooky stuff. 😉
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Ahhh fair play then. Pumpkin is not a big thing here. Or Halloween. And the loss of the sun is a great big hole through the heart!
But okay – 100+ does sound like something ya want to celebrate the end of. What does the light do?
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It goes from harshly white to a warm orangey glow. 🙂
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We’ve got the golden glowy thing going. It’s quite nice, I’ll admit. And too much glare can be ‘eh’ but….I do so very love the sun…
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Oh yeah. When spring rolls around I’ll be enjoying the sun again. 🙂
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So winter sucks even there? 😉
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Sometimes…;)
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Dandelions popped up in my poem today, too. I love winter. Probably because we have either relentless heat (summer) and once-in-a-while fog (winter) so at least winter has a little variety. I envy the geographic regions that actually have color and vibrance in Fall. We get color for about a week around the end of November, early December. Anyway, enjoyed the interplay of words. Brava!
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Thank you so much. I suppose I am all too used to being in a temperate climate, and it’s easy to forget that there are those who yearn for this kind of season. However, familiarity breeds contempt and rain (in any season, to be fair, but especially when it’s cold) brings a bad mood.
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Such a vivid word picture of my favourite season. i loved the richness of you imagery.
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Thank you Maria! I’m glad you thought it worthy of your favourite season, then 🙂
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I hope it works and that autumn continues to win you over. It’s actually the best season here – not too hot and humid. Changing leaves, and the promise of Halloween soon which is a blast!
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Maybe for you – it’s not a big deal here. Tends to be a night full of rowdy teens out drunk in fancy dress. Changing leaves are okay. But the cold…and the dark…
I’m trying very hard to like it.
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Though you may not enjoy autumn, this was a lovely tribute.
My favo(u)rites: Ghostly, misted dawntimes
With ombre’d trees arrayed from grey to white
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Thanks Tamara 🙂 I’m trying very hard to find things to like about it! I think it helps that it’s still warm and sunny.
That said, tomorrow morning is meant to be HORRIBLE. Boo 😦
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This was beautiful, Lizzi! You captured the essence of Autumn perfectly. Like you, I mourn the Fall a bit, knowing that the grey of winter comes, even though it’s not excessively cold here like it was where I grew up. The season of dark and dead is not my favorite, but this closing down time, it is truly beautiful, I love the cool mornings and evenings, and the warm sun afternoon! Lovely poem!
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Thanks Josie – I’m glad you liked it. I think the change of season is already getting to me. That said, we had a LOT of rain this morning and it reminded me of how awful last winter was and all the floods which were so disruptive. Perhaps I had better hope for a dry, cold winter this year, even if colder means I function less well.
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These are lovely images and part of the reason I love Autumn as a season. Thank you for sharing! I shall come back to visit. 🙂
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I think it was easier to write them because they’ve all been real – I’ve seen or experienced all of these, and I’m trying very hard to keep focussed on the beautiful bits of autumn. Thanks for stopping by, and I’m glad you enjoyed the poem 🙂
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For someone who does not love autumn, you’ve certainly got a positive spin here. I just love autumn. Not so much Halloween, though, because I completely hate what the world has done to something that used to be much more, well, hallowed. But autumn I love. I loved the fruit cake line – that is perfect! Perhaps I like that because I, unlike most people, also think fruit cake (done well) is pretty awesome, too.
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Ahhh I can’t claim that line for my own – I’ve borrowed, lifted and otherwise half-inched it from a description Gerald Durrell uses in one of his books. It’s so very evocative, isn’t it? 🙂
I don’t love autumn, even though I’m good at writing a positive game (or, to put a different spin on it – great at lying through my teeth!) and Halloween’s not really a ‘thing’ over here. I’m just trying to cling to everything which reminds me of summer at the moment.
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Imma find you sumthin…after dinner.
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Now I am INTRIGUED 🙂
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Very lovely imagery
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Thank you very much 🙂
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