Friday, November 2, 2012

Subtlety


You can have your blazing reds
Your canary yellows
Your tangerine oranges

Keep your hillsides of gaudy riot
Those brilliant shows of doomed defiance to the coming chill

Give me autumn's subtle shades
Its lingering green nod to summer past
Laced with mottled acquiescence to dreary days ahead

Give me peaceful transition
Substance, not flash
With just a hint of color
To keep it fun

That's all I need of Fall
And, in truth, of 'most everything else

14 comments:

Ken G said...

I'll take what you got. Fall flew through too quickly here. One day color, the next no leaves. Stark gray/brown skeletons is all that's left. I like things to move as slow as I do lately.

Mike Sepelak said...

I like things to move as slow as I do lately.

Amen, Ken. Perfectly stated.

Odd Fall here too. The leaves started to turn and then Sandy blew by, dropping all the color but leaving the remaining green in the trees. Look up, summer. Look down, fall. Very weird.

Len Harris said...

You are quite the wordsmith Mike.

Mike Sepelak said...

Thanks Len. And I expect that the driftless colors were pretty darn special this year too.

cofisher said...

You expressed my feelings exactly Mike...very well.

Unknown said...

Well said Mike but ya still gotta love a tree in transition with greens at the core and blazing reds yellows and oranges around the edges. The only thing I hate is when those d@#! Leaves fall and it takes me three weeks to pick them up.

Mike Sepelak said...

I'm not the least surprised, Howard. Thanks!

Oh, trees in transition are the very best, Joel. Exactly what I had in mind. As for picking them up, that's one more reason that living in the woods is so sweet. You just let them lie. Blow off the driveway, maybe. But, for the most part, just enjoy them where they sit.

Steve Z said...

Where the hell did November come from? Wasn't it August just a few moments ago?

Color here is gone except for this one Japanese maple in the back year that will not give up the ghost. Looking forward to the subtle shades of green come spring.

Mike Sepelak said...

Now spring greens are another topic entirely, those tender and varied hues so different than their mid-summer counterparts. I like them too.

And November did indeed come from nowhere.

Jay said...

Very nice poem.
I liked it so much I've stolen the title of my latest post from it.
I give you full credit for the title and link back to your blog. I hope you don't mind.

Sanders said...

Nothing flashy, just the change. A beautiful way to describe most things...as you said.

wonderfully written.

Mike Sepelak said...

Do I mind? Of course not, Jay. Quite the contrary - I'm honored!

Thanks, Sean. Aways good hearing from you, bud. And I see you had a few fine words on change yourself. Very nice.

Peter Patenaude said...

Sure does happen fast- snow on the ground this morning. I do not think it will stick for more than a week but it is a good sign of what is around the corner.

Mike Sepelak said...

I don't even want to think about snow, Peter. But winter is approaching fast, for sure, even here in the south. The evening fires sure feel good.