Outside My Window
A Japanese Maple clings
to its dress of leaves,
no longer the rich green of summer.
The autumn ritual of abscission–
slow push of leaves from their attachments–
triggered by cooling weather,
shortened days, is in process.
Then wind and rain arrive,
strip the flaming red foliage
from their fragile tethers to form
a mulch blanket below,
leaving naked skeleton
of limbs and trunk exposed,
vulnerable.
In the autumn season of my life
I too, hold tight to the familiar,
draw on temporary security,
feel the vulnerability of my transition,
unsure of when or how to let go
like the maple
that makes it look
so easy.
You Know it is Fall When...
Overhead a chorus of honking echoes from a chevron of geese.
Rattling bugle calls from a sedge of sand-hill cranes fills autumn skies.
On terra firma chrysanthemum's bronze bloom is a garden showpiece.
Lime fruits hang heavy on limbs as their sugar begins to increase.
Maple leaves unmask colors of gold, brown, yellow and red as they die.
Overhead a chorus of honking echoes from a chevron of geese.
Carved pumpkins sit on porches, grinning their smiles for weeks.
The flickers return to harvest a crop of their orange persimmon prizes.
On terra firma chrysanthemum's bronze bloom is a garden showpiece.
The air is chilled from crisp fall breezes that flutter away the leaves
And soon flocks of masked cedar wax-wings will arrive.
Overhead a chorus of honking echoes from a chevron of geese.
Halloween brings goblins and ghosts to break the neighborhood peace.
Kitchens fill with aromas of cinnamon, cookies and pumpkin pies.
On terra firma chrysanthemum's bronze bloom is a garden showpiece.
Thanksgiving celebration's focus on gratitude becomes our centerpiece.
Pomegranates burst open with ruby arils that into jelly we customize.
On terra firma chrysanthemum's bronze bloom is a garden showpiece.
Overhead a chorus of honking echoes from a chevron of geese.
Lynn M. Hansen is a retired Modesto Junior College professor of marine biology. She is a member of the Ina Coolbrith Circle, Orinda, CA., a charter member of the Modesto Stanislaus Poetry Center and past president of National League of American Pen Women, Modesto Branch. Her work reflects her sense of place and art of story-telling. She enjoys gardening with native plants, photography, cooking and writing. With her husband Richard Anderson she has traveled to all five continents and enjoys adventures in different cultural realms. In 2013 a collection of her poems was published by Quercus Review Press entitled Flicker, Poems by Lynn M. Hansen. Her most recent publication, March of 2022 is an historical novel about her maternal grandmother entitled Journey to Sky Avenue: The Life of Mernie Daisy Lewis (1882-1963).
A Japanese Maple clings
to its dress of leaves,
no longer the rich green of summer.
The autumn ritual of abscission–
slow push of leaves from their attachments–
triggered by cooling weather,
shortened days, is in process.
Then wind and rain arrive,
strip the flaming red foliage
from their fragile tethers to form
a mulch blanket below,
leaving naked skeleton
of limbs and trunk exposed,
vulnerable.
In the autumn season of my life
I too, hold tight to the familiar,
draw on temporary security,
feel the vulnerability of my transition,
unsure of when or how to let go
like the maple
that makes it look
so easy.
You Know it is Fall When...
Overhead a chorus of honking echoes from a chevron of geese.
Rattling bugle calls from a sedge of sand-hill cranes fills autumn skies.
On terra firma chrysanthemum's bronze bloom is a garden showpiece.
Lime fruits hang heavy on limbs as their sugar begins to increase.
Maple leaves unmask colors of gold, brown, yellow and red as they die.
Overhead a chorus of honking echoes from a chevron of geese.
Carved pumpkins sit on porches, grinning their smiles for weeks.
The flickers return to harvest a crop of their orange persimmon prizes.
On terra firma chrysanthemum's bronze bloom is a garden showpiece.
The air is chilled from crisp fall breezes that flutter away the leaves
And soon flocks of masked cedar wax-wings will arrive.
Overhead a chorus of honking echoes from a chevron of geese.
Halloween brings goblins and ghosts to break the neighborhood peace.
Kitchens fill with aromas of cinnamon, cookies and pumpkin pies.
On terra firma chrysanthemum's bronze bloom is a garden showpiece.
Thanksgiving celebration's focus on gratitude becomes our centerpiece.
Pomegranates burst open with ruby arils that into jelly we customize.
On terra firma chrysanthemum's bronze bloom is a garden showpiece.
Overhead a chorus of honking echoes from a chevron of geese.
Lynn M. Hansen is a retired Modesto Junior College professor of marine biology. She is a member of the Ina Coolbrith Circle, Orinda, CA., a charter member of the Modesto Stanislaus Poetry Center and past president of National League of American Pen Women, Modesto Branch. Her work reflects her sense of place and art of story-telling. She enjoys gardening with native plants, photography, cooking and writing. With her husband Richard Anderson she has traveled to all five continents and enjoys adventures in different cultural realms. In 2013 a collection of her poems was published by Quercus Review Press entitled Flicker, Poems by Lynn M. Hansen. Her most recent publication, March of 2022 is an historical novel about her maternal grandmother entitled Journey to Sky Avenue: The Life of Mernie Daisy Lewis (1882-1963).
