Tuesday 20 September 2011

September Song - My World





Day by the day,
unmistakable signs 
herald the advent of autumn;
tenderly, soft mists embrace 
fields yielding their final harvest
before they merge,
seamlessly, into 
the weathering sky.   






Peonies, defying
the laws of nature,
assume a coat of glowing colours,
their red-veined leaves 
betraying a zest for life,
yet to be stilled.







Horse Chestnuts weep 
a gentle rain of
yellow leaves
upon the flower beds they shaded
only yesterday.
Their shiny fruits long gone,
exhausted from their valiant efforts
through the seasons,
their final offering now
to lay a shielding hand
against the frosts to come
over the sleeping life
deep in the earth below them.




©  photos and text USW

This is my contribution to  the new That's My World



52 comments:

  1. This post is so comforting and soothing. Among your many talents, you are also a poet! Beautiful!

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  2. Hello:
    Beautifully written and containing some very evocative and appealing imagery. The lines 'Horse Chestnuts weep/a gentle rain of/ yellow leaves/upon the flower beds they shaded/only yesterday' conjure up so vividly the approach of autumn and the year's end and are, in our opinion, particularly lovely. As are the images which complement your poem.

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  3. Words and pictures that are balm to the soul...Thank you. ♥

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  4. How elegant and well done, I am so impressed with your ability. Thank you for the pictures and the poetry...

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  5. So many talents! I always look forward to your posts. Jim

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  6. This is absolutely beautiful!!!

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  7. Reflective words mirror the season.

    I am on the edge of the peony growing zone so my peonies do not take on such lovely hues, they just wither and die down. I have several varieties of peonies and we cut down those that turned brown with summer heat. Others will be trimmed back later this year.

    As for the fields of hay, still some of that around here if you drive out of town. Thnks for sharing the peony photo. Dianne

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  8. A sweet ode to the changing season.

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  9. Such mellow words to go with these lovely shots.

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  10. A gentle gearing down of the busy seasons of spring and summer, beautifully portrayed in words and pictures. A perfect September song.

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  11. Very nice, a gentle autumnal song.

    :)

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  12. Lovely. Does this mean you're feeling better?

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  13. What a lovely blend of beautiful images and soothing words. This is indeed September's best.

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  14. your words are so gentle...like one long sigh...comfortable...and the pictures play so well with them...i love this time of year...

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  15. I am deeply moved. Perhaps particularly by the Horse Chestnuts weeping. I have never had the pleasure of traveling to England but the line reminds me of the tree in 'Pride and Prejudice,' 'on the green, by the smithy. (The very one.)'

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  16. *sigh*
    On that note, I'll head out for work, keeping those lovely images and words in my head as I go into a not-so-pleasant place.

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  17. Wonderfully evocative of autumn! Puts me in the mood for my favorite season...beautiful writing and photos!! :)

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  18. Very, very nice. I, too, love the "horse chestnuts weeping." Wonderful imagery here.

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  19. Friko, in your last stanza, you ended with the following words: "their final offering now/to lay a shielding hand/against the frosts to come/over the sleeping life/deep in the earth below them."

    I find this so reassuring. It is Oneness in that all creation offers its bounty in Oneness.

    Thank you for you evocative words and for the lovely photographs and the introduction to the meme.

    Peace

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  20. Lovely. So, lovely.

    PS- Here is a five-second video on "meh".
    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LCcZqcPOlNM&NR=1

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  21. Lovely words and pictures, Friko.

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  22. Such a lovely, peaceful post. It is exactly what is occurring in our days now. Sigh.....

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  23. Your words linger in the air - just lovely.

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  24. Bonza photos and very enjoyable poems to go along with 'em. I especially like the peony one red is such a classic colour :-).

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  25. My favourite season.
    Honoured so beautifully.
    Thank you.
    XO
    WWW

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  26. Emotionally satisfying. I'd love to give some bruising criticism(well, not really, but..), yet I always seem to enjoy what you write. ~Mary

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  27. So nice to experience autumn through your words, especially here on our Fall-deprived shores of the Gulf of Mexico.

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  28. I don't know how I missed this earlier, Friko. I'm so glad I found it now.
    The peony leaves are lovely. I must go out to check my one lone peony to see what it's leaves are doing.
    What a delightful post from your world. I enjoyed it very much.
    — K

    Kay, Alberta, Canada
    An Unfittie's Guide to Adventurous Travel

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  29. Was für ein Märchen. Vielen Dank !

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  30. Your photos are such a gracious reminder of what will linger for a short time. Autumn is such a favorite of mine but I don't know why, everything is such a reminder of what will be.
    Manzanita@Wannabuyaduck

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  31. I've always suspected that you've considered our praise to be merely the friendship of the blogosphere.

    There's nothing wrong with showing appreciation for work that is not 'cutting edge literature'

    Hear me now:
    This poem IS workmanlike and delightfully correct and pleasing. My words cannot express the joy I found in your simple balance and word choice. Anyone who would smugly damn this with faint praise is a self regarding fool with other issues.

    This will remain on the web forever and may well be discovered and loved by future lovers of the English countryside and of Autumn-

    Warm Aloha from Waikiki;

    Comfort Spiral


    > < } } ( ° >



    ><}}(°>

    < ° ) } } > <

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  32. Friko, this is beautiful and tender and poignant--just like the season--and your images complement the poem perfectly. I, too, like the weeping horse chestnuts, but mostly I just feel soothed. Thank you so much.

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  33. The autumm details you chose, in prose and image, are perfect. And what is it about those round hay bales that is so endlessly appealing?

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  34. How beautiful. That first landscape, with the hay bales, could have been taken where I live.

    I love the fall.

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  35. I love the photo of the hay, and your words are so soothing! Where I am, the heat still bears down insufferably, so this was a treat.

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  36. Nice to meet you, Ms. Friko.
    Thank you for visiting me and sweet words to my post.
    you must have a vast interest and stunned by the wonderful pictures.
    Love and lots of Hugs to you, Orchid*

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  37. Your first photo is captivating - to me, the very essence of an English summer.

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  38. Perfect for the change of seasons. Thank you Friko.

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  39. Wow your images and words are gorgeous..sigh of pleasure!

    Veronica ~ Mother City Magic

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  40. Since our Autumn this year is dark , grey and soggy , I'm only too happy to enjoy yours instead . Thankyou !

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  41. Oh and now I want to cuddle up into autumn. That photo of the tractor and wagon, wow. Your gentle and lyrical lines are so welcome, as is the season.

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  42. Thanks for sharing the wonders of your area, touched delicately by the graces of nature...

    And thank you for the connection to such a wonderful meme.

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  43. Absolutely lovely . . . stunning photos, and soothing, peaceful words heralding the coming season. I loved it all.

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  44. Absolutely gorgeous post, in its' entirety. Didn't you say you're not a poet? Reminds me of the kids who go in to take a test saying they are scared stiff - and ace it every time...

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  45. I love autumn and your words and pictures remind me why. Just beautiful. Thanks for sharing.

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  46. beautiful words to announce an beautiful season..
    rgd. your question...before i moved to wordpress, i was blogging at splittergewitter...we know each other from there...

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  47. I'm ready, on another overcast, sprinkly day here, to come for a walk in your neighborhood.

    Really lovely, you.

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  48. Hello Friko, I loved this look at your September world, your photos are wonderful as are your words.

    Thanks for visiting my blog. You asked about my header photo size. I crop all of my hearer photos so they are less deep then I re-size them until they are about 1 MB or less, that works for me.

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  49. I love the effort you have put into this blog, the photos, poems, etc.

    I hope you are all feeling better soon.

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  50. This poem reminds me of “Ode to Autumn” by Keats and it’s hard for me to say which of the two I prefer..., but now I prefer yours. My favorite season is autumn. Here in Nara, at last mornings and evenings are getting cooler. Autumn makes up for our muggy weather of summer. Cheers to autumn!

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