I heard it fall
It was just a leaf
A tiny dried leaf
Yet when it fell
Alone on the wood porch
I stopped
On that warm, sunny, summer day
A slight chill
Fall foreshadowed
Another season
Suddenly present
© 2016 Thomas W. Cummins
Posts Tagged ‘Nature’
Another Season
September 21, 2016A North-woods Walk
October 1, 2015—∞—
If only words could let me share
But what can they do?
Re-imagining a morning walk
On an hilly dirt road
Through the woods
Past driveways leading down to the lake
To hidden cabins
Early morning rising sun
Leaves bursting with color
Light flirting with shadows among the trees
Aspens shimmering in an unnoticed breeze
It was very cool, if not cold
Hands taking turns
Between pocket and hiking stick
A deer’s follow-me white flag
Bounding, bounding, bounding … gone
At the bottom of a hill
A pair of ducks exploding from a small pond
Little flocks of tiny birds
Gathering something for breakfast
Amidst the weeds and lingering wildflowers
Unnoticed before
The breeze has picked up
And plays with the holes in my walking stick
A horrible flute
Producing a tone that is simply beautiful
Appearing then vanishing
With the rhythm of my gait
An hour later
Back at the cabin
Warm
Invigorated
Sitting by the window
Steaming cup of coffee
Sparking lake beyond the sheltering glass
© 2015 Thomas W. Cummins
Hopeful Anticipation
June 14, 2015An indifferent lake early
Foggy
Monochrome gray
Offering no invitation
To look closer
Approach
Enter
Ride upon
Yet filled
With possibilities
Latent beauty
Much to be revealed
Later
Sparkling blueness
Drawing laughter
From children playing
Those fishing
Waiting in hopeful
Anticipation
Copyright 2015 Thomas W. Cummins
Only silence, stillness, a pause in the dawn
June 11, 2015Morning view at the lake. Only there for a moment, and seen by no one else.
Morning Shadows
May 21, 2015
This morning as I came down the stairs, the rising sun was casting shadows on the wall and closet door after passing through the lace curtain, past the dracaena marginata, and the stair rail. Leaves from outdoors were dancing amidst the lacy and muted pattern.
River
January 11, 2015I found this in a basement box. Written in February, 1979 while we were living in Muscatine, Iowa. No editing or improving. A solo effort flanked on each side by decades of silence.
—∞—
Trembling in the early morning sun
Dewy tears shown with joy on the grasses
As breezes chasing the fleeing night
Shook them to the roots buried
Deep in the dark soil at the woods edge
A drop shuddered
Lost its hold
Fell to the ground
Others fell too
From the warmth of the dawn
Into the darkness close to the earth
Those near each other touched
Meeting … mingling … joining … pulling
Moving
Running … sliding … wandering … merging
Swelling
Flowing … splashing … scattering … gathering … rushing
Rippling
Slowing
Spreading … deepening … quieting
Light, shadows, birdsong
Peace
Solitude
Silence
Imperceptible movement
An occasional sparkle
A lonely swirl
Lingering from the touch of a willow
Drooping to the surface
Cottonwood fluffs suspended on the line
Between air and the green water
Warm beneath them
Hours had passed
The treetops felt the approaching noon
Heat from the sun arrested the breeze
Thickened the humid air
Trapped the rising vapors
From the river below
A locust’s call rang across a clearing
and died away
Water drying on the sweltering mud
Left on the shore from a passing barge
Days had passed when a gull wheeled overhead
Salty water was closing in on our dewy wanderers
The sun had long since set
Last traces of hue on the western horizon
Gone
A horn warned of the approaching fog
© 1979 Thomas W. Cummins
In a dim light... 
You must be logged in to post a comment.