AUTUMN

The familiar nip is in the air.

All nature seems to know

Autumn has arrived.

It is time for rest.

The maple out my window

Shamelessly begins to disrobe,

First swapping verdant green foliage

For fiery vermillion

Royal purple

Brilliant yellows and oranges.

She’ll wear the beauty

For a few weeks

Before dropping it carelessly

On the ground below.

I’m told the gorgeous hues

Are there all along,

Masked by the overpowering green of growth,

And brought out of hiding

When the sun stingily

Begins to take back its light

Earlier and earlier.

Autumn has come to visit my body, too.

The supple joints

The moist skin

The clear eyes and mind

Are fading

As my days also grow shorter.

Yet, all these years

Brilliant beauty

Has lain hidden

Within me, too --

Masked by the frenetic activity

Of youth,

Of growth.

What vibrant hues

Will be revealed in me

In this autumn of my life?

Hues to heal,

To please the soul,

To calm the spirit?

Let me be sure

To look for the beauty

That can come

Only with the dying of the light.  

—Rebecca Barnes Hobbs

Originally published August 29, 2017