Sunday Sedoka (breathe)

For a long moment
I forgot to breathe as I
for mesmerising moments
gazed at the picture
from Mother Nature's palette
as autumn gold she painted

©Jemverse

Photo – autumn at Sheffield Park, Sussex, UK – Jempics

[Sedoka is a Japanese non-rhyming six line stanza with a syllabic sequencing of 5-7-7-5-7-7]

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Tri-haiku XXXIX (vibrant)

Vibrant this colour
at this golden time of year
when greenery fades

And the sunset comes
The years' full swansong sings loud
with echos to gold

Leaving me speechless
Silenced by this golden awe
at the curtain call

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

A walk in a painting

Went for a walk in a painting
the colours vibrant and bright
the artists' palette singing to me
as a I swooned in this wonderful sight

Reds and golds and yellows and pink
with green in the background were there
a wash of pale blue and a purple for depth
conveyed by the artist to share

And my words were so insufficient
the poet's voice silent this time
the honour and glory to the better hand
providing this picture sublime

©Jemverse

Photo – Sally Croucher

Teazle Teasing

They've been tantalising me a while
growing slowly there
Teazles swaying in the breeze
willing me to share
But I've resisted purposely
as the time has to be right
when words paint this good picture
of the teazles there in sight
And now I feel that time has come
the teazles' teasing ends
allowing me to share the joy
they bring with all my friends

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

Golden III

There in the silence a single leaf fell
slowly down to the ground
from the tree it had lived on throughout the year
with the slightest whisper of sound
Yet no sadness here, no falling from grace
but exuberant moment of glee
as a new golden treasure shone bright at its best
at the end of its life radiantly

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

In the autumn now

October shadow, Obi's field
in the heart of Sussex Weald
barely was the warmth concealed
in the autumn now

Walked a mile around the place
felt again familiar grace
with the sunshine on my face
in the autumn now

Obi ran, he always does
round in circles there because
this is how he gets his buzz
in the autumn now

Spent up there our usual hour
underneath the oaken bower
turning trees above us tower
in the autumn now

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

The rollercoaster ride (reprise)

Concluding ‘The Fading Days’ series from Jemverse (12 of 12)

In the razor sharp clarity
of a crisp autumn morn
An erudite moment
of instinct was born
A momentary feeling
captured and held
Crystallised into form
to fashion and meld

In these days of uncertainty
moments like these
Akin to the feeling
of a warm summer breeze
Are the ones that will shape
and strengthen the mind
Providing foundation
with purpose to find

Life’s a rollercoaster ride
with its up and its downs
But when the scary bit’s over
Our laughs replace frowns
So when clarity comes
and the purpose is clear
The ride’s there to enjoy
With nothing to fear.

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

[‘The rollercoaster ride‘ was first published in October 2013, then reposted in October 2015]

Blackberry & apple crumble (reprise)

11 of 12 in the ‘Fading Days’ series from Jemverse

Foraging for blackberries
on an autumn day
enough there for a crumble
from those we found along the way

We brought some Bramley apples too
from the farm shop, fresh and nice
For a crumble with hot custard
flavoured with a little spice

Somehow it tastes much better
with fruit we’ve picked by hand
A crumble made with local fayre
grown there on Sussex land

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

[‘Blackberry & Apple crumble‘ was first published in October 2015]

Conkers (reprise)

10 of 12 in the ‘Fading Days’ series from Jemverse

I’d turn back time
(If only I could)
For I’ve a bag full of conkers
which I found in the wood
Recalling the days
of muddied scuffed knees
Long days in the sunshine
and the climbing of trees

‘Borrowing’ a skewer
from the kitchen drawer
when stringed conkers in pocket
was what life was for
We threw sticks to the branches
to see what would fall
and the thrill of the find
was just part of it all

The ‘fallers’ were rare
but we searched just the same
Always out in the woods
when the autumn time came
But that art has been lost
for today on the ground
There were hundreds of conkers
just lying around

And the only boy there
was the one in my mind
As it re-lived the days
that time tries to find
I-phones replace conkers
Imagination consumed
And simple pleasures like this
could well now be doomed

Yet all is not lost
For the conkers remain
for collecting by me
every year just the same
As now they are used
to keep spiders away
And as happy reminders
of a halcyon day

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

[‘Conkers‘ was first published in October 2015 then reposted in October 2021]

The turning (reprise)

9 of 12 in the ‘Fading Days’ series from Jemverse

Turning now
the green will fade
to liquid gold
of Autumn shade
Past equinox
less sunlight hours
But warm enough
for many flowers

There’s colour here
to hold at bay
the looming months
of Winter grey
But turning now
the fading slow
as Autumn has
still much to show

©Jemverse

Photo – Jempics

‘The Turning‘ was first published in October 2017, reposted in October 20 and October 2021 and again today