New Seasons

Photo by Ylanite Koppens on Pexels.com
The leaves change here
Oranges and reds popping out
Amongst stubborn green
The wind shifts
Autumn comes to call
The world leans in here
Demands life to slow down
The quiet season is coming
The world makes ready its winter bed
Telling you to pull out your blankets
Candles and hearthfires
Demanding preparations for long nights
Wood smoke and hot chocolates
And much needed rest

gws

Welcome Fall

Days grow shorter
Mornings and evenings delightfully chilled
Long afternoons warm, hazy, and tea-colored
Cool breezes dance from the sea into the valley
Making layered wardrobes a must this time of year

The world starts to quiet down
Though restlessly at first
Unwilling to relinquish summer's vitality
Harvest season half complete
The trees begin debuting their fall finery
Resplendent in reds, golds, and browns
As purple hues return to sunset skies

The golden hour earns its name now
As the last dandelion seeds drift through dried grasses awash in glowing rays
Shadows deepen as homes reflect amber radiance in westward facing window panes
Preparing to welcome night's elongating visits earlier each day

The resting season is arriving
It carries with it ghostly tales told under cloud-filtered moonlight
Candlelight and story craft
Blankets, books, and honeyed tea
Soups, stews, and baked goods of all kinds
Air laden with aromatic spices and yeast

The world grows gradually quieter
Chirping crickets slow their masterpieces from allegro to adagio
Singing the world into a calmer pace before putting away their instruments
Fall readies to welcome dreamers and philosophers
Writers and witches
All the laborers of the mind and spirit
Into its gentle comforting arms

-gws

Oh Northwest Wind

(A Northern California Call for Autumn’s Arrival)

Photo by Zetong Li on Pexels.com
Oh Northwest Wind
Bring forth your breeze
And with your breath make summer ease

Oh Northwest Wind
Gift your crisp, biting air
That tells us Fall will soon come to bear

Oh Northwest Wind
Please do not tease
Instead, herald the changing of the leaves

Oh Northwest Wind
Return us our foggy blanket
So we may start dreaming of harvest banquets

Oh Northwest Wind
Please place kisses on our skin
So Summer knows its rule is at an end

Oh Northwest Wind
Time to dance through the pines
While we bundle in sweaters and sip rich wine

Oh Northwest Wind
Please bless us from above
So that we may give thanks with Autumnal love

-gws