growing up, autumn was a season of flaming maples…the area where I live now is populated by conifers so change shows up differently . . . in rusty grasses, late wildflowers, low angles of light. As winter draws close, colour and sound soften to a hush.
autumn sky
a wash of blue berries
on the juniper
©️2021 Ontheland
autumn forage
among dark rocks a sheen
of salamander
.
.
©️2021 Ontheland
mid-autumn —
soup to warm my hands
a candle for my soul
.
.
©️2021 Ontheland
twilight moon
a strand of geese
passes Venus
.
.
©️2021 Ontheland
September 30 was the occasion of Canada’s first National Day for Truth and Reconciliation, a day to honour “the lost children and survivors of [Indian] residential schools, their families and communities. Public commemoration of the tragic and painful history and ongoing impacts of residential schools is a vital component of the reconciliation process”. This new national event falls on the same day as Orange Shirt Day, observed since 2013 on September 30 by Indigenous communities to remember children who did not return from residential schools and as well the struggles and resilience of those who survived.
I wrote a few five-line poems to honour the day. One follows:
in autumn chill
hearts warming
by sacred fires
the orange flicker of dreams
the eternal pulse of a drum
.
.
©️2021 Ontheland
tomato sandwiches. . .
a month of fruit
and finches
.
.
©️2021 Ontheland
pouring rain . . .
the glow of
juniper tips
.
.
©️2020 Ontheland
high moon
the last warmth of autumn
in the oven
.
.
©️2020 Ontheland
striped seeds . . .
a flurry of
black cap chickadees
.
.
©️2020 Ontheland
Black cap chickadee by larrydoucet on Pixabay
juniper grove. . .
autumn colours layer
wilted grasses
.
.
©️2020 Ontheland
Ontheland 