LIVING IN AWE

(A seasonal poem from the poetry collection of Gail Landgraf)

The crisp sharp sunlight filters down through my bedroom window.  

It nudges me awake from warm and cozy dreaming.

The air is cool as I regretfully leave the comfort of quilts and grab my robe.  

Bare feet against wooden floors whisper that winter is coming soon.

The air feels fresher, as if a cool rain has fallen through the night, 

Leaving only cheerful sunlight behind.

Everything is brighter and cleaner today.

I take long, deeper breaths. 

The air feels good and fresh in my lungs.

I breathe in Fall and all of its wonderfulness.

Morning coffee has a better flavor during this favorite season.

I add a little ginger, honey, and cinnamon for fun.

Slowly I sip and linger in the slanted light,

Wishing I were more carefree.  

Finally I step out into the morning light.  I see the trees are putting on their annual fashion show.

They all parade around me in their vivid deep colors. 

Those long, lean, graceful trees that understand the art of modeling better than any human.

I pass between them on my way to work,

feeling small and insignificant in their midst.

My eyes are subconsciously noting how each tree characteristically paints the sky behind it with a unique, individual flair.

Their swirling leaves dance along the side of the road.

Are they following me to work?

I travel on toward the mundane destinations of the day.

But I notice those messy trees leaving their lovely fashion in a trail all over the earth’s floor.

Like a teen-aged girl who has over-shopped.

I drink in the colors of  their lovely leaves.

They actually take time out from their little naps to wave at me.

All of them dancing and swaying in the wind, as if they were next door neighbors just calling out for me to stop and say hello.  

The pumpkins at the curb market smile their toothy smiles as I venture on down the road.  

Regretting it already, I resist the urge to stop and pick up a pumpkin for my front porch.

But I know I would be late for all those things that are not really important.

So I move on wishing the rest of the world would freeze in time for just a little while,

So I could take in more of the Fall.

With the magic of God’s creation surrounding me as I move forward,  

Sadly I proclaim out loud, to no one in particular, that it is shameful that I must continue with my boring, normal daily routines.  

On such a day as this, it simply isn’t fair!

And it just doesn’t seem right not to stop for just a bit in the Fall, or at least to move a little slower.

I feel as if the whole world should just stand still for at least a whole day. 

They could absorb the returning of this lovely season’s beauty.

It is the beginning of Fall. 

I am completely in awe.