poem: The Golden Season

Late August - October in New England

The Golden Season

Dog Days are duly done, now
   and the air is fragrant
        with the scent of aster and Joe Pye and goldenrod
scattered in fields like patches sewn
  in Mother Nature’s autumn quilt- the one she brings out
for company- we being Her guests of honor.

The Light spills longer, shadow play illuminates all
   in scintillating scores of gold, innumerable
    shades and hues and tones, this.
We rejoice, harvest the fruits of April’s seeds,
         June’s tending, July’s thinning.
Drinking the air and swimming in Light-

Bathing in the ochroid afterglow, basking in warmth-
   as cats in the sun, flexing our claws, lazily, purring.
            The auric essence flows in goodwill, coats everything,
honey as a balm for our souls,
      Flax as tonic of our spirits- painted on our bodies
by viburnum’s burning hand.

Now is the time of joy, now the season of splendour-
   silver maple’s blood spotted lemon, sugar maple’s tangerine,
red oak’s crimson tides, undulating across the hills-
    aspen’s delicate wisp; acorns rolling underfoot,
         hickory melting on the tongue, Monarchs taking wing
and you, here, to take it all in with me.

Nothing this good can stay, so proclaims Frost- but I say,
  “Do let’s try!”- come run with me and play,
        outside, while caramel afternoons prevail- this heart
needs reprieve from its cycle of desuetude, so enjoy,
    October’s sapphire and wheat days while they last,
and make me believe, once more…

That gold can last forever, and that the dazzling hues
    of autumn will be captured in your memory as the color
of my hair, and I’ll hold onto October skies in your gaze,
         while the grasshoppers wind down, dew burdens the grass,
and berries paint the earth, scarlet, the very shade of
    my growing desire for you.

Help me trust that gold can stay, and make me feel
   I deserve to be overwhelmed in something
so beautiful as the golden season in New England,
    just, for once, letting it all surround me in clouds, in swathes
          of spectral, shimmering, fiery evening glow-
Wrap me in that quilt of flowers and bring the harvest to my door.

 

Author's Note

free flowing- wasn't sure where this was going to end, been thinking about it a few days, guess it was meant to be written for someone after all!

Reviews

[Kevin Vorshak]

I so want to experience the fall in New England. I love the Spring and Fall. I had the opportunity once to go to Quebec in early October for a job and travel along the St Lawrence and cross St Catherines Bay. The trees started to turn, making calico colored hills. I truly want to experience that in America. Someday, I want to experience it, to stay in a bed and breakfast and drive through the countryside. I just thing that would be so cool. This is wonderful writing Marie. You capture this beautifully.

[wordman]

it looks number one to me

[Vertigo Cat1111]

The calmness of this poem is amazing. You absolutely captured the slow, quiet feeling of summer ending and coming into the fall. The calm before the storm and I can't believe this isn't in a book yet? There are so many things I've read on this site that prove to me, these people absolutely deserve to be published, and you're one of them. This poem paints a better picture than a photo up on a wall, and it was just wonderful

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

I absolutely LOVED LOVED THIS.... THANKS for entry into my poetry competition on seasons, good luck

[Julie McCarthy (juliesp..]

hi sorry for being so late, in judging my colours competition and reviewing, i loved this poem alive with so many descriptives and colours, loved it, thanks again for being so understanding, good luck

[gombeggar]

reads like a watercolor painting or stream filled with watercress that we know

[Larry Dyson]

like the flow of this part"The auric essence flows in goodwill, coats everything,
honey as a balm for our souls,
Flax as tonic of our spirits- painted on our bodies
by viburnum’s burning hand. "

[Extant]

There's so much in this; image after image of glorious Autumn. This one fit perfectly into Beauty During Change.

[Rick Puetter]

Dear Marie,

Magnificent. Stunning. One of your very best. A simply dazzling piece. Bravo
and congratulations.

There are so many memorable lines.

"Now is the time of joy, now the season of splendour"--simply wonderful.

The cause, harvest of

"...the fruits of April’s seeds,
June’s tending, July’s thinning.
Drinking the air and swimming in Light-"

And I really like bring in Frost's poem "Nothing Gold can Stay", one of my
favorites and read by me at my thesis advisor's eulogy. Reading your words, I
was already with this poem before your mention of it:

"Nature’s first green is gold,
Her hardest hue to hold
Her early leaf’s a flower;
But only so an hour."

Your fervent desire:

"Help me trust that gold can stay, and make me feel
I deserve to be overwhelmed in something
so beautiful as the golden season in New England"

Oh how desireable, how we would this were true.

This is a truly inspired piece. A 98% poem for sure. I've never given higher
and I toyed with the idea that this rated higher. This is among the very
finestpieces I've read on WC. This is really spectacular. Get this published!

Enjoyed so much. Highest marks possible!

Best regards,

Rick

[Marie Anzalone]

Thanks Rick.. was re-reading this beautiful review today. I can tell you that the person who helped inspire it quoted the Frost poem to me; thus my allusion to it is most definitely deliberate. It was nice that you picked it up.

[Rick Puetter]

You are certainly more than welcome. What a beautiful piece of poetry!

[Jamie S.]

Thank you for writing such a wonderful tribute for my favorite season! You have given me the urg to go out and play or eat something from our midwest harvest :)

[Cool Handless Luke]

Now how have I missed this piece? I absolutely love it! So vivid and real! It flow's so freely from line to line and verse to verse that it is impossible not to become wrapped up in it. So much so that I wanted to check my floor to make sure I wasn't indeed standing amongst the red and golden leaves. This is absolutely breathtaking and beautiful. Definitely going into my favorites! Wow!