Fall

Mactaquac and geese at the head pond

Fall

Red leaves multiply on maple trees.
Bright berries staining a mountain ash.

One flower survives on the hollyhock,
its blaze of glorious blooms lost, faded
in a silence of dried seeds, absent bees.

Hummingbirds are now long gone. Geese
gather in great gaggles feasting on grass
before taking flight and soaring south.

I want to ask questions about their journey
but they mouth denial and waddle away
to paddle on grey waves when I approach.

Comment: With a temperature yesterday of 21 C (that’s plus 21 C) rafts of geese are still around. These photos are from earlier in the fall. I love the way several stand erect, looking at and for possible intruders, while others feed. Shared responsibilities. I guess we humans could learn a great deal from the geese, if only ‘we were not full of care / and had some time to stop, and stare’ (W. H. Davies, one of my favorite Welsh poets, the verses changed slightly and adapted to Mactaquac). Roedd hi’n y tywydd heulog a cynnes yfory / the weather was sunny and warm yesterday. What a joy to be able to write that in Welsh after so many years without the language.

3 thoughts on “Fall”

  1. Love the poem, Roger. And I wish I could find an old photo of mine from so many years ago my hair was still auburn! The geese reminded me of a day I took my dog to my favorite local park for a walk. Had my camera with me and when I was stopped for a Goose Crossing (seriously, that is what the sign said and apparently those geese could read it!), I got out of my car and snapped a photo of the goose family crossing the road in their own crosswalk. And then lost the photo during a move!

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      • That’s the first time I saw the sign so I was surprised by how well the geese stayed in the walking zone. That park plays host to all the water fowl coming and going overhead and is one of my favorite places. Just wish I could get there now.

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