I feel it
In my bones
Aches and pains
Randomly appear
As if switches
Have been flipped
Not in my favour
Grief ebbs and flows
On grassland tides
Glorious joy comes
With crunchy leaves
Swiftly dampened
By squash
Lost to frost
Skins split
As insides swell
Tiny stretch marks
Weep glittering sap
Consolation found
In the early stars
Gracing heaven
As blue hour fades
Into deeper darkness
Coyotes grow coats
Lush, mottled
Gleaming eyes spot
Silent mice, creeping
Through dead stalks
Deer leap across
Secondary highways
At their own peril
The wheat has been threshed
Straw, baled
Farmers drive
Lumbering giants
Along gravel roads
Headlights dimming for
Oncoming travellers
Night’s show is
Ready to close
One last act left
Poplar leaves flicker
Under a moonbeam spotlight
Performing the final dance
Before their
Timely demise
About the Creator
Aspen Marie
In love with life and all of its foibles.
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Violence Begets
"Any last words, cowboy?" "None you'd understand, sodbuster." "Funny. That's Marshall Sodbuster to you. But I meant some last nugget that would help us in the adjudication of the myriad offenses counted against you and your gang. I wasn't asking for penitence."
By Adam Diehl5 days ago in Fiction
Comments (10)
Stop talking about my aches and pains. Damnit. lol. As ever, I found it easy to fall into this walk with you, feeling all the aches, pains, emotions. This is a beautiful piece. Beautiful and honest. I think Imola's comment and Caitlins sums up what I love about it. I'm a comment thief. Don't worry, I'll Paul-up this comment. Well done, lass. This was beautiful and that picture almost makes me believe you know what you're doing behind a camera! hahahahahaha. Sorry. Couldn't resist, lass!
Boy do I want to walk this path. You make the place look so amazing. Absolutely love this photo. Aches and pains. Switches flipping. I feel the same. Sometimes a random pain will come and it would shock me so much, I'm thinking what the heck is happening. Especially the sharp ones in my toes. 'By squash, lost to frost' love this line. It gives me the feeling of something wet. I love how you went from stretch marks to stars. Makes me feel good about my stretch marks. Wow. This was amazing. I felt like I was outdoors in every line, leading to the end. The headlights. Those deers. I felt like I became present as they were. Outstanding work as always Aspen 🤗 ❤️ 🖤
I love how the whole poem reads as grief and beauty are woven together in it. It’s such an honest reflection of how life/the month really moves.
You truly nailed nature!! strong and passionate
I admire how you move seamlessly from human sensation to the movements of animals and harvest, creating a layered portrait of early autumn. The attention to small, transient details makes the season come alive on the page.
This is beautiful! You've captured the whole cycle of autumn so vividly. I love how you move from the personal aches and grief right into the natural world, the coyotes and deer and those flickering poplar leaves. That final image of the moonbeam spotlight is absolutely perfect.
Well-wrought, Aspen! What a great pic, too! You got the sun's eye peeking through the trees just right!
Love how you captured September’s moods—bit of ache, bit of sparkle 🍂✨ Really felt that moonlit curtain call. Made me wanna grab a pumpkin spice and clap for the poplar trees 😂
Oooo, I especially loved how the stretch marks weep glittering sap!
This was so evocative, Aspen.