Almost Bewitched

 It's almost Halloween, and the cool nights and the bright leaves and the pumpkins are all gathering.  I saw photos of witches on paddleboards, which was amusing but beyond my current abilities. Haha. I ordered a new witchy hat in red, but it's big for me. I look like I'm hiding under a red mushroom. Maybe I'll find another recipient.  

Anyway, I have a new poem. I was inspired to write this by a recent experience. 

Acrobats

In soft evening light

Lake lapping

Reflecting

I find a performance

Just at the shore

Acrobats in black

Doing stunts for their supper

I see them flutter

Pirouette

Swoop

Watching the troupe

I see flying near-misses

But look: This one kisses

Her lake-mirrored image!

It's a natural act

A banquet on the wing

I see flutters and swoops

Daring dives and braided loops

It's a traveling circus!

In soft evening light

Acrobats flutter and feast

Lake mirrors their moves

And I am a sister

Reflecting.

© Karen Eastlund 2023

Have a fun Halloween, everyone!  And don't forget to join the gang for Poetry Friday. This week is hosted by Carol Labuzzetta... she's sharing more bat goodness!  Find it HERE.

Jack-o-Lanterns

I love to carve a pumpkin, no matter how the face turns out. The gooey pumpkin innards and the smell of singed pumpkin take me back to early days. I always have candle stubs to light inside and watch the flickering light. It's much spookier that way, but of course I have to be careful.  I suspect it's more fun for me than for the children who come to my door, but that's fine. It amuses me each year.

FACES!

Jack-o-lanterns' homemade faces

Teasing, grinning

Gleaming

Bright --

See them peek from

Sills and

Gates --

Will they spook us

On that

Night?

©  Karen Eastlund

Thanks to J. Patrick Lewis for this poetic form, called a zeno.  The syllable count is 8,4,2,1,4,2,1,4,2,1.

If you start practicing now, you can learn THIS SONG by Halloween.

 It's Poetry Friday!  Find the whole gang and their poetry offerings at Reading to the Core. Thanks to Catherine Flynn for hosting today and writing about the human urge to leave our mark.

Autumn: A Gathering of Gladness

Thanks to Ramona Behnke who prompted our group to write about gladness this month.  In particular, how to gather gladness. You can find Ramona's post and links to others at her blog Pleasure From the Page. 

I was looking through old photos when I was unexpectedly struck by the many blessings of my life. To be honest, some photos took my breath away. Why unexpectedly? In some I didn't remember the faces being so beautiful. Or I didn't remember the tenderness I had witnessed.  I didn't remember some moments at all. I was unexpectedly overwhelmed. 

I sometimes feel that my entire life has been one long journey out of fog. It seems that blessings have been staring me in the face, and oftentimes I've been blind to them. What was I thinking? Where was my focus?

Then I came across this poem by Chesterton. I think it speaks very well to my experience and this prompt.   

Lo! I am come to autumn, When all the leaves are gold; Grey hairs and golden leaves cry out The year and I are old.

In youth I sought the prince of men, Captain in cosmic wars, Our Titan, even the weeds would show Defiant, to the stars.

But now a great thing in the street Seems any human nod, Where shift in strange democracy The million masks of God.

In youth I sought the golden flower Hidden in wood or wold, But I am come to autumn, When all the leaves are gold.

        - G.K.Chesterton

Marlene Figge wrote about this poem: This unexpected discovery that he (Chesterton) is surrounded by an abundance of what he seeks is a metaphor for his encounter with grace.   
You can read her entire article HERE.

One way to gather gladness is to look back at photos. They can surprise you and bless you.

Also, gather gladness as you read! Many blessings...many tidings of comfort and joy... can be gathered from scripture. 1 Corinthians 13:12 promises:

12 For now we see only a reflection, as in a mirror, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

I wish you an autumn full of gatherings and gladness.