Defiance
Leaves hesitate then corkscrew,
circle, and skitter in full shed.
Parchment invitations
in scarlet, yellow, brown
issued to winter winds.
Thousands upon thousands,
and thousands more
spiral and twirl
in fall’s finale.
Before this season ends
in smoking leaf piles,
in moldering heaps,
in that last
ephemeral dance
of spent days,
We pause,
believe bone deep,
ponder resurrection.
In answer
to fall’s summons,
center on fat buds
brushing green against spring-blue skies,
on the softness of pussy willows,
and the promise of rainbows
sliding beneath swollen clouds,
in bold defiance
of fallen leaves.
Sheila Robertson finds inspiration in the natural world. Her writing grows out of landscapes in Idaho and Oregon, where she has lived. She has published stories and poetry in Writers in the Attic, Crab Creek Review, North Coast Squid, and Camas Literary Journal. Presently she participates on a team encouraging Yamhill County, Oregon writers to publish in Paper Gardens.
Leaves hesitate then corkscrew,
circle, and skitter in full shed.
Parchment invitations
in scarlet, yellow, brown
issued to winter winds.
Thousands upon thousands,
and thousands more
spiral and twirl
in fall’s finale.
Before this season ends
in smoking leaf piles,
in moldering heaps,
in that last
ephemeral dance
of spent days,
We pause,
believe bone deep,
ponder resurrection.
In answer
to fall’s summons,
center on fat buds
brushing green against spring-blue skies,
on the softness of pussy willows,
and the promise of rainbows
sliding beneath swollen clouds,
in bold defiance
of fallen leaves.
Sheila Robertson finds inspiration in the natural world. Her writing grows out of landscapes in Idaho and Oregon, where she has lived. She has published stories and poetry in Writers in the Attic, Crab Creek Review, North Coast Squid, and Camas Literary Journal. Presently she participates on a team encouraging Yamhill County, Oregon writers to publish in Paper Gardens.
