Gleanings From the Poetry Journal

The Current Poetry Journal and one of the ubiquitous fountain pens.

9/24/16

I am still not adept at reading subtle changes in the seasons.  I grew up without them.
It is a new art for me to pick out which details I see, and discern what is to come.
What can I learn from the fact that
The south wind today is both warm and cool
The caterpillars I see
Are all well covered in thick wool
The pecan tree out back
Is generously throwing nuts around
Which squirrels are both eating and hiding
With frenzied abandon
The sycamore trees
Seem out to get me
Throwing pollen laden
Ball bearing bombs
At me
To roll my ankle
and/or make me sneeze
As I walk through
The changing land.

9/27/16

Cool air again at last!
I have longed for this
The crispness in the air
That makes the sky look
Even more blue.

10/5 / 16

The sunlight is beginning to take on an Autumn cast
The angle changed, the quality less glaring and more golden
It should look about like Spring
But it does not
As there is so much more vegetation about now
To filter it, alter its colors,
Change what it can access.

10/ 6 / 16

Frustrations. Changes.
Sometimes change is good
But sometimes it just brings
Massive frustration with it.
I love the cooler weather,
But I don't like the
Fact that this cold front
Is kicking up thunderstorms
Ahead of itself
Like a bored kid
Kicking a can down the road.

10 /7/16/

A day wherein nothing
I need to do got done
The way I meant to do it
Such is life

10/10/16

Crunchy bits beneath my
Walking feet
Scuttling dry leaves following
Along behind me
Cloud ships a-sail on a
Clear deep blue sky
Ah, Autumn. 
Welcome back.

Am I invisible out there in the world?
Maybe.
I've gotten very good at it-
Being invisible.
I do know a few
Who
Always seem to see me
And seem glad that they do
A few that I love don't seem to see me
Until they do or say something
To let me know they do.
Perhaps it seems that I like being left alone.
I don't know.
Sometimes, that is true.
But others,
It is just sad
And lonely.

10/14/16 

It's October

The sky is grey and cloudy

The wind is up

There's a bite in the air,

 The crows are gathering

And calling to one another

Spooky,

And cool.

In more ways than one!

Pitter - patter of little feet

On my roof,

Little squirrel feet

Darting from acorns to pecans

Storing up good things to eat.

Knock, knock, knock

Over my head

Crow on the roof

Working to be fed

Trying his best to crack

A pecan 

Held in a claw

Hit with a beak.

I think he lost one.

 

10/14/16

The wind is up
It's out of the North
There's nary a hint
Of summery warmth

The dry leaves
Scuttle along with me
The crows are calling
From rooftops and trees

Pumpkin faces appear
Flickering on porches
Prompting laughter or fear
As Halloween approaches

Summer is dead and gone
Save for a warm day or two
Autumn sings  us its song
Saying Winter comes soon.

-by CK Armistead October, 2016.

10/ 15/ 16

Autumn Morning Walk

-by CK Armistead October 15, 2016

Today I walked with silence
No music buzzing in my ears
So I could hear the brilliance
Of the real world here
The always moist breath

Of the south wind
Mumbled rumbly past my ears
Cooler than last week
Making the trees whisper
Of colder winds to come
While squadrons of clouds
Ride north
Laden with promise
Or threat
Which one, I cannot say
On this early Autumn day.
A lone Monarch
Drifting lazily,
Miraculously
Still southward
In the lea of houses and tree
Headed for Mexico
In spite of the wind
Pushing back toward
The north.
Following an even stronger
Of Nature's imperatives.
My foot strikes an acorn
Still wearing his little hat
A treasure lost
By a hurrying squirrel
Perhaps
The trees have not yet turned
There have not been enough
Cool nights
For Nature to get out her
Paintbox
And give the trees their glowing
Autumn coats
That we all adore
A few leaves
Here and there
When the coldest breeze nips
Have gathered glowing colors
But only on the tips
Of their branches
The very sunlight has
An odd cast today
An unfamiliar angle
An a filtered quality

Making everything feel out of sync -
Speaking of the worries
afoot
Both in Nature's world
And Man's.

The light and clouds today.