Autumn Road

The roads we travel will always lead us home...

Autumn Road 

By 

Carlos Lorenzo Estrada 

(A Perpetual Fall)

Upon this Autumn road I've walked 

With weary heart confess 

Beneath the fervent cypress leaves 

That clatter calm distress 

In wild grass that blooms emerald 

and bends in sorrow'd waves 

Each blade languished; from a song of wind

Within changing of her days

The blossoms of a florets Spring 

Paint lavish earth with vibrance 

As daisies frolic 'pon their stems 

In echo of their silence 

The tender weeping of a stream 

Pours gently upon its path

Crescendos into river's edge

And roars with nature's wrath

Wisterias draped with Spanish moss

Enchanting in their presence 

As dandelion seeds flutter like rain

In hauntingly abundance 

The call of tree birds ring aloud

On thorny aureate branches

With iridescent wings aflutter 

Take to wind in joyful dances

In the labor of my tired limbs 

I walk this path alone

In search for simple peace of mind

From quiet steps I roam 

For road was long; I've traveled far

And forgotten where and when

To reach the garden of God's soul

and find myself again... 

Author's Note

The path we roam will always lead us home. But home is not always the place we may have expected or wanted in our search. Love often works in such mysterious ways as we know. Hopes often flutter in the wind upon these roads and time often stops, or moves us forward to the point we have forgotten where and when our journey began. And when we look behind ourselves we find we are alone. With our thoughts, the wind, nature, and what we believe as God.

Reviews

[Soren]

Emotional truth set in metaphor on a most beautifully decorated poem of images. Existential in scope it rings with heartfelt emotion and is hauntingly familiar. The last four lines struck home and are beautifully expressed. A truly lovely piece to which my mind will return again and again

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you so much for stopping by to share your thoughts on this piece. Living close to the small costal city of Monterey I was able to draw a lot of inspiration from it. I remember a few years back seeing two deer walk along the ocean shore. It was such a perfect moment. I had thought about taking a picture of it but it was just too perfect a moment to try and capture in a photo. It just had to be lived in the moment. CLE

[Dylan Macadham]

Yes, there's nothing like a good walk outside to make one feel better, especially a nature walk on a sunny day. Beautifully written, Carlos :)

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you kindly for taking the time to comment on this poem. I appreciate your thoughts and talents as a poet. I feel in times like these what is much needed is art because it reflects the better nature of our humanity. CLE

[Dylan Macadham]

.........🙂

[keith]

oh my friend you have done it again!
even i the atheist 'search for simple peace of mind'
we are as we are

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Hi Keith I hope you are doing well, my friend, and continuing to write and be inspired to create more works. I've been busy with life and limited time to post, but I'm still writing just haven't gotten around to rewrite s and edits of my stuff yet. I'm hoping to post soon. Despite some of my work having aspects of religiosity in them I tend to be more pragmatic in my thinking. Not a religious person per se though my upbringing was steeped in such ideology. But those were things of my mother's choosing. I am not as dogmatic as she obviously was. I remain open minded on such things but my old age tempers my wisdom and beliefs more now a days. If it takes religion for someone to be a better person then I won't judge them for it. As long as I'm respected for my views in return. My thoughts being more agnostic and atheist then anything. I hope you are doing well. CLE

[MCS]

A welcome read given I'm in deep winter. Always enjoy your words, thank you my friend.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you for taking the time to read and share a word with me. I can't say enough how the many poets here, you included, inspire me to keep pressing forward in my own work. I've been writing so much but just haven't posted anything lately. The creative part is easy, but it's the rewrites and editing that consume most of my very little time. I believe I'll have something soon. Thank you so much again for sharing your thoughts. They do mean a lot. CLE

[MCS]

I'm always delighted when I come across your posts. Time is the issue for so many of us.

[John Prophet]

As always brilliant! Artful and creative as ever.
John

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you kindly JP for sharing your thoughts on this poem. I hope all is well and that your muse is inspiring you everyday towards new art. I always enjoy reading your work when time permits. I always tend to see a fascinating mind behind the words you share. So thank you always for your kindness. CLE

[Marie]

What a BEAUTIFUL poem!!! You have captured the season of Autumn superbly in this sublime write. You have also captured the feeling of aloneness eloquently also. You fleck a wonderful picture of taking a walk with Mother Nature and the lovely tranquility which her presence brings to us as we walk with her. We are never alone. Even if there is nobody with us, we are with ourselves! For me, the poem is a wonderful spiritual write, Carlos. For me, home is a state of mind, like happiness, joy, etc. Home is anywhere we are happy to be. I just love this exquisite poetic gem and I, thank you for sharing it, Carlos. Wondrous write!!! Kudos well deserved...

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you kindly for your wonderful shared thoughts on this poem. We are the sum of those who came before us. Their art moves within our own. We are driven as writers to express ourselves differently than most in the world because we see each thing that is nuanced more vibrant and living then most. A rose is not a rose to us. It is a symbol that define aspirational beliefs towards love and beauty. We see life in metaphors. It is simply how we think and live. Poets such as yourself and others in our community speak eloquently about these innate God given qualities within ourselves. Our art defines or seeks to define the undefinable. I enjoyed writing this poem because of the rich colors within this moment of brevity. It is the place where love (God) resides. Thank you again for your kind words and taking the time to share a moment with me in this painted world. CLE

[Marie]

Thank you for sharing your so beautiful words which I will later reflect on.
Thank you for your kindness, I feel truly privileged to read your words.
II am so pleased to read that you enjoyed writing this poem just as I so enjoyed reading it.
Most welcome always, CLE...
Gratitude with brightest Blessings your way, dear poet...

[Víctor S]

Well it is difficult to comment a work so well done, so in first place I will extend both my congratulations and thanks to the author for this verses. They are obviously crafted with great care and bring images from all the spectrum of emotions. Also I give thanks because autumm is my favorite season of the year and you made me live it in this reading.
Said that, I will just give word to my take of the subjet of the road and the traveller, I happen to coincide with you in your note.
I also believe that the road and our life are such entwined metaphors that one could say they are that serpent biting its own "tale", is very difficult to say were one begins to diferentiate them, perhaps it is useless?
So the road sometimes ends in another place... an unexpected one, or maybe it is the destination we forgott we had in the begining?
Well so many questions here you arised in my mind and for that I thank you too. Please keep doing your great job.
Best journey poet.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you kindly my poet friend. Your words about the road of life is indeed thought provoking as well as philosophically true. In its brevity life is but a momentary spark. And as I mentioned to a friend recently a constant education that only ends in the finality of our last breath. It's only then that we graduate from it, and move on. To where, who knows? But all that accumulated knowledge is for a reason I believe. It has to be. I'm reminded of my youth. In third grade my best friend Stevie passed away after being struck by a drunk driver while playing out in the street. I remember both of us vowing we would see each other after summer vacation. I still remember and miss my friend. He's in the color of leaves when green in the summer and brown in the Autumn. I miss my grandmother who was this wise Guatemalan woman who loved to cook, sing, and gossip. I still hear her in the notes birds sing in the morning on their tree branches. Life is a metaphor for all these things beautiful and tragic. I encourage you to continue to have all those questions and hope you find answers in the art you choose to create from the love that resides within you. All from those beautiful colors of Autumn. CLE

[Víctor S]

A lots of thanks Carlos for those words and shared images of the past. Best journey.
BTW, Im my creative journey I recently finalized a new book called "Finales, una oportunidad para la autoconsciencia" (Endings, an opportunity for self-awareness). Is in spanish as you may have guessed by the title and is not a poetic endeavor... more laike an essay. well if you happen to remember some of the spanish your abuela spoke or/and you are interested in the topic I can send you the link you the youtube channel where I give voice to the text. The book itself is an ebook FYI.
Well again thanks for the poem, the words the answers.

[poetgurl]

Wow!! I enjoyed this write. This is really wonderful

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

You are too kind. Thank you so much for these encouraging words. I hope if anything comes from this poem it's that you continue your road forward as a writer and creative. Because to me that's what this world needs. More beautiful words and art. It's the only thing that can truly change the world. So please do me a favor and keep on writing as well as sharing your art. CLE

[Wordless_Prism]

I truly felt as though I was there walking with you, well done.

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you for these kind words. It really means a lot to me to hear them. I remember my writing teacher in high school tell me "Don't just tell a story. Anyone can do that. Make the person your telling feel it and see it as if they were there with you. Just don't speak with words, but paint with words. I took what my teacher said to heart. And that advice I have lived in both my art and life. Continue to write and share your own words with the world. You can change it by adding more beauty into it. CLE

[Fran Marie]

you paint a lovely pictureque scene of Autumn
as we journey onward ..lovely poetic verse from
start to finished lines..well crafted ..& conveyed

[Carlos Lorenzo Estrada]

Thank you Fran. I am constantly inspired by the words of all the other poets here, including you. How can someone not see the world differently through artists eyes when reading all this amazing and moving poetry here in our community? We poets view the world not like everyone else, but through divinely inspired eyes. And we are richer in Love for it. CLE