Waiting on Fall

Wind blows from the west,
Penetrating my veins.
It tells me change is coming.
But I don’t believe it.

I scoop up a handful of leaves,
And I release.
They catch the invisible stream in the air.
I follow them to the foot of a mountain.

The winds shift.
The leaves cyclone around me.
And stop me from the climb.
I had hoped to make that journey. 

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Fall always feels like more of a new year to me than January 1st. It could be the shift in weather or the changing leaves. The business of summer is over. The days get shorter and darker, and there’s an inevitable inward shift — as opposed to the active, outward days of summer.

As a kid, there was the whole back to school, new clothes and backpack feeling of a fresh start. The possibility of a reinvention of self. Even as an adult, I can feel it in the air.

Except for this year.

Despite my meditative saunter through the autumnal displays in the craft store, a new apple-cinnamon candle, or the nutmegy batch of zucchini bread that just came out of the oven, Fall feels like more of a concept more than a reality.

And I know there are still a couple more weeks of Summer. But normally by now, I’ve been completely overcome by her gentle, seductive whispers.

I think Fall’s trying so hard to push out Summer and take her place on the seasonal throne. If I had a horse, I’d storm the streets and lead the battalion to fight off her oppressors. I need her to reign. She only gets a short time as it is, before that jerk Winter is knocking on her door.

Since I don’t have a horse or an army, I suppose I’ll go stick my feet into the earth and do some deep breathing while I wait. Maybe I’ll read a book and actually edit my novel too.

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Prayers: For my friends affected by the wildfires in Oregon and Eastern Washington. I am praying for your safety. We need rain. We need Fall. ❤

Blessings and Namaste.