Strolling with Autumn

 Her beauty so intrinsical

captured my heart.

I held my breath as long as I could

resisted until she was so close to being gone.

I could hear her calling my name again.

That siren that won't let me go.

Couldn't take the temptation 

So, I drove to meet her.

I had to be with her, a part of her.

I took a walk.

The scent of nature so captivated me,

Taking me back to childhood days 

when she held me close.

Even then, I was in love with her.

 I took the narrow path, the door to her heart.

The center of her core being.

It was held open by a split rail fence.

The swoosh and swish of a light wind in my hair

was barely heard above her voice, beckoning our rendezvous.

I wanted to feel her arms around me.

She wanted to play.

Tapping me on the shoulder

one leaf at a time.

She captivated me.

I found myself skipping with her,

chasing her deeper inside

until I could hear her giggle in the brook 

below the bridge.

She wanted me to see something

Vanishing before me

along the winding trail,

one leaf here, another branch there

she dropped her clothes

just before we arrived at the pond.

And as she stood there,

Head full of colors, yellows, oranges, browns

all beautiful as one would expect of the lady,

She held my gaze as we stood together

by the pond,

and I saw her perfect reflection in the water.

 This love affair with Autumn has gone on for years.

She and I have a thing, you see.

At the first hint of her dropping her leaflet earrings outside my door,

I begin the search to see her

in all her amazing beauty just before she's gone

and I am left to wait, 

yet another year to see the beauty she will present

and leave behind in my heart.

We took a walk, she and I.

She let me in this time.

Oh, it has been years since I've been this close.

The crushed leaves, already falling along the floor

the smells of earth and acorns

The feeling of water running over my feet

as she washed away the tiredness of summer,

brought me to tears.

That kind of love, that causes your heart to beat

beyond normal capacity

with deep jagged breaths, bringing tears

stinging and remembering why I love her so.

She may be a siren when she calls

but she is so much more.

She reminded me this year 

of how many secret memories she holds.

I found myself slip back 37 years ago when it was just Daddy and me.

I think that was when I first caught sight of her.

I was already mesmerized by her perfume.

And it was her perfume that took me back.

After the loving . . .memories of years gone by

flooded into my mind

bringing me home to my heart.

First there was the love of Daddy and me

running through the woods,

chasing chipmunks.

 Then there was the days of catching crawfish

and salamanders in the creeks

down the hills below our home.

Next we came to the memory of my mother's voice,

thanking God for the colors of the trees.

She walked back with me to the split-rail fence

before bidding me good-bye for another year

promising the next visit to me just as memorable.

Kissing me on the cheek with a light raindrop,

She stood there, waving good-bye in the branches of trees

and I cried like a heart-broken teenage girl

I drove away with her in my rearview mirror.

 Until next year, my dearest Autumn, the siren of my heart,

I will hold the love of our affair in my arms,

I will wait for you to return.

Yes, dear.

For you, I will wait.

All photographs are used with permission by:    Amy Scott