Leaves of gold shining
Fall sun warms the air and us
A great time for thanks
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Today is open link night at d’Verse on this Thanksgiving!
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
fall
The Lore of Chrismas
When we were visiting the Oregon Coast, we saw this set of bushes decorated with every kind of float you could imagine. They won’t need to decorate for Christmas. This colorful display will do just fine!
Colorful floats shine
calling for Christmas to come
Kids dream of Santa
*
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
A Matching Pair
Withering winds sigh
Doves feel warm in the sunshine
Winter chill is on the way
***
Photo Dwight L. Roth
Today Frank Tassone gave us the prompt withering winds for our Haikai Challenge.
Laid to Rest
Leaves are laid to rest;
Blanketing the ground around the stones
of those already laid to rest.
Golden brown they fall
scattering in the wind // drifting gently;
A covering for those who have already
passed the winter of their life…
and those who left much too soon.
Soon the oak will be bare of leaves
its branches reaching up toward the blue sky.
Standing tall and stately over the cemetery
it knows when Spring comes
new life
will be drawn from its roots.
And, when this winter is past
it will put out new leaves
that will, once again, shade those
who have already been laid to rest.
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
I am also posting this for d’Verse Poets Pub open link night.
Join us at: https://dversepoets.com
Fall Colors
The dry weather will affect the Fall colors around here this year. We have not had rain for over a month. Instead of turning yellow, the hickory trees behind our house are simply turning brown and dropping to the ground. The painting above will help us remember how colorful the Fall foliage can be.
Swimming colors blend
Red leaves drift down from the trees
Snow lays on the peaks
Painting: Dwight L. Roth
Frank Tassone’s Haikai challenge is to write a poem using Fall Colors as our prompt. I thought I would repost my painting showing the beauty of Fall colors.
Spider’s Equinox
Golden strands of a spider’s web shine in my window as the sun was setting in the distance. Today, for Frank Tassone’s Haikai challenge, we are using the September Equinox as our prompt. Earlier, I watched a writing spider spread her web across my dying zinnias, hoping to catch that one last bug before cold weather closes in for good.
Spiders spin crossroads
Sun sets on golden silk strands
Shining fall colors
September Equinox makes
crossroad tangled deal once more
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
Reflection
Aging rusts the soul
Life scattered like lights and doors
Falling leaves hide rust
*
Autumn Contemplation shows
Nature reclaims everything
Photo: Marc Andrew
Frank Tassone asked us to consider Autumn Contemplation, as we come to the end of this long hot summer. There are many ways autumn makes us stop and think about life. Nature, aging, and the combination of both remind me I am not invincible. When I was young, aging seemed far off, but now I am in the autumn of my life and realize in time I too will be like the car in the photo above. When gone, I will be remembered in bits and pieces, but soon, those too will fall by the wayside and the leaves of time will cover all. I decided to use this great photo again and write from a little different perspective. I am using it with permission from my nephew, Marc Andrew.
Check out my previous post for another perspective!
Gumballs
Before I moved to North Carolina, I thought gumballs were those giant bubblegum balls you could get from a machine at the entrance of a store. You put your nickel/quarter in the slot, turn the handle, and the ball would drop and roll into the cup below. Then, I moved into a house with five giant sweetgum trees. They are a Southern specialty, very prolific in their production of spiky gumballs. The balls produce seeds that open and drop out or get eaten by birds in the Fall. The hard shells, covered in sharp spikes, keep falling all winter long. Just when you think you have raked the last of them, the wind come through and down comes another layer! As you can tell, I like the sweet bubblegum balls much better!
Sweet gumballs // all sugar
Not found on a Sweetgum Tree
Fall gumballs dropping
*
Hard prickly seedless shells
Hundreds cover my backyard
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
Raindrop Rubies
Have you ever seen a raindrop ruby shining in the afternoon light? Today was a little warmer, so I decided to catch up on my Fall yard work. When I finished, I sat down in my Adirondack Chair under the trees to cool off. I checked my cell phone for a while. At one point a few sprinkles fell. Two very tiny droplets landed on middle of my phone glass. As I looked at them I they looked like minute rubies and emeralds, depending on which way I turned the phone in the light.
I wondered how many people would have wiped the phone and missed the rubies. Very similar to life. If we take time to look around us, we might just find some sparkling rubies and emeralds in people we would usually pass over.
Raindrops on the glass
Refracted rubies sparkle
Fall rainbow compressed
Into tiny water drops
Look closely before they’re gone
Photo: Dwight L. Roth
Last Rose of Summer
We enjoyed a warm Fall, but now the cold air is moving in and what had escaped the earlier cool nights is now getting frosted. I went out today to see what had survived and found the last rose of summer still bright red for one last day. Some of the others around it were wilting from the frost we had last night.
Frosty air arrives
Last rose of summer still smiles
Tomorrow she’ll die
Leaves shiver // aged overnight
Winter’s knocking on the door
Photos: Dwight L. Roth
