I love the way leafless branches look against a grey sky...

November Grey
(November 2004)

Oak tree, strong and stately
The agressor
His naked extremities reaching skyward
Cold and grey
A wind pushing forcefully
At his northern face
Exposed and bare

This season, she’s flat and lifeless
But not in a somber way
Not in a negative way
November is full of beautiful days
More like a welcome mat
Or accessible way
As if Saturday

Go on, roll in the grass
Take the time to smell the scent
Of Poplar leaves, a dying waft of brilliance
Nature’s gift to a fall passerby
Of which few will ever notice

I’m constantly surprised and bewildered by the general consensus of fall/ winter= bad. Now don’t get me wrong, most people do like the early to mid fall where vibrant colors fill the landscape to the brim, but a lot of people also turn off their “pleasant vision filter” as soon as the vista becomes more dull and grey. This, to me, is when this world seems most alive and vivid. It’s like mother nature’s soul shining through to us all- that deeper beauty where pureness and uniqueness shine through, catching ones eye. Late fall is raw, the smell of dead leaves fills the air, grass becomes a golden yellow shag carpet streaked with green, and sidewalks feel more cold and firm that they ought to. Our space feels less cluttered, and openness is given new meaning, almost as if truth and honesty are beckoned from on high. We can see through wooded areas where once only the creatures of the forest traveled- now sharing this space with our eyes and our curious stare. Everything is so sparse and bare, that it pulls me in so far that I wouldn’t dream of leaving- because true beauty is always found in the inner workings, the soul, the truth, and the pure grit of humankind. We’ve been modeled after mother nature…