If spring is hello, autumn is thank you.
After a particularly long four weeks, walking sometimes gently and sometimes stubbornly with personal and academic fears, I sensed this morning a still small nudge to the Tuesday morning Eucharist at my church. My keys seemed to place themselves into my hand and I was out the door without much thought. I went closed and distant, but during the prayers, we were asked to speak out something for which we were thankful. The stunning leaves of gold, orange, and red, came to mind and speaking the words aloud shifted my attitude, widening my heart just a little. The message of thankfulness then went much deeper as we remembered in prayer a marriage of six decades. After Eucharist, a lovely woman spoke about her husband, her gratitude hugging every word and every detail of memory in the midst of the pain of her loss.
Leaving the church, I saw again the autumn colors, and the crunchy leaves at my feet. Winter is close, and soon the colors will dim and disappear to browns and frost. The leaves which had greeted the first touches of spring warmth with nuanced greens and yellows, are now flaming in the crisp chill with thankful beauty. They seem to say, Thank you, sun, soil, rain, wind. Good-bye for now.
Winter Song / Emily Smith
The leaves are falling from the trees
Farewell for now warm summer breeze
Weather has been good this year
Now the winter will soon be here
The nights are drawing into shorter days
I hear the old folk and the country people say
Don’t fear the dark, nature has it all in hand
Time to reflect and renew the tired land
So we’ll stoke the fire and light the lamp
Turn our backs in from the damp
Settle down beneath the starry sky
Endure the winter passing by
I see the frost etched upon the glass
In the morning sun he soon moves fast
But he’ll be back to claim the frozen ground
With each clear day he surely will be found
The geese fly south to find a warmer home
While the weary bull he soldiers on alone
Children’s laughter it crackles in the air
Sparks fly high and they catch them if they dare
So we’ll stoke the fire and light the lamp
Turn our backs in from the damp
Settle down beneath the starry sky
Endure the winter passing by
With carols sung, the trees been taken down
We’ve passed a dram and the bells no longer sound
Snowdrops rise with promise of the spring
There’s talk and wonder
At what the year might bring
The blackbird starts to thicken up her nest
While the early lamb, he takes a snowy step
But the north wind’s grip it tightens with his chill
And holds the buds closed against their will
So we’ll stoke the fire and light the lamp
Turn our backs in from the damp
Settle down beneath the starry sky
Endure the winter passing by