WHITE

Cimicifuga
     still in bloom - even though the 
           calendar says mid-November.
     It's startlingly sweet fragrance
           commands attention.

When the breeze is just so . . . 
     neighbors walk over into our
           garden to
     seek out what
           smells that way.

Baneberry's reddish stalks, 
      adorned with white eyes and
             tiny black pupils, 
      appear to be on the search for
             their former neighbors -

      recently frost-bitten.

Plants with ever-new potential -
             but, at least for now,
      calmly await

             the white flakes of winter.

The Gift of An Hour

The shift from daylight time to standard time in these waning
days of Autumn, gives us the gift of an additional hour.

               And how might you use your gift ?

    You could take a nice long afternoon nap.

    You could bake a large batch of chocolate chip cookies
         and while still warm, share some with a neighbor.

    You could offer to rake the leaves from a
         neighbor's front lawn.

    You could connect with a friend and say
         how much the person means to you.

    You could greet people whom you don't know
         . . . with a smile.

    You could engage in acts of kindness and hold doors
         open for others or relinquish your place in line
         for someone.

    You could make a steaming hot cup of cocoa and
         sit by a window.

    You could take someone dear to you -
         out for lunch or dinner.

    You could begin reading that new book you
         haven't found time for.

                      You could even write a poem - or two !

S O S A D

Can't forget 19 days of
   totally grey, overcast sky.

Curiosity won over waiting
   but only at first.

How long can this go on?
   Is this what SAD* is
      all about?

Is the world
   broken?

It wasn't that there wasn't a
   total absence of blue.

Once in a while, a jay would
   wildly fleet through,
      stopping only to
         harass a few winter creatures
            that frequent our back garden.

All of a sudden, following the
   456 hours of grey-
       the sky parted
          just a bit to
             show blue.

Only to swiftly shrink away and
   close up.

Not until
   nearby neighbors
      rushed into the street - pointing
         away from the earth.

I joined them.

Together, we surmised whether or
   where blue would be
      seen again.

I wished it would return.

Wherever it went
   I will surely wish
      to follow.

Is it too much to have hope it
   would linger until
      the Killdeer
         call again?


                              *Seasonal Affective Disorder

Too Short

I still find each day too short for
all the thoughts I want to think,
all the walks I want to take, all
the books I want to read, and all
the friends I want to see. The
longer I live, the more my mind
dwells upon the beauty and the
wonder of the world.

                                  -John Burroughs