Highlights of Autumn Imagery / Hints of Gratitude

One of the most spectacular and colorful of seasons is autumn, especially in late October and all through November, until the amber, gold, and orange leaves curl away from tree limbs.

The brittle leaves scatter along the ground until brisk, cool breezes create whirls of fading colors. Needless to write, poets herald this season with bountiful images, not only of the physical beauty of the season but also of the circular passage of time and of gratitude.

To illustrate, here is an anonymous poem:
Thanksgiving - Old Rhyme

The year has turned its circle,
The seasons come and go.
The harvest all is gathered in
And chilly north winds blow.
Orchards have shared their treasures,
The fields, their yellow grain,
So open wide the doorway~
Thanksgiving comes again!

http://www.jeannepasero.com/Thanksgiving...

One image that grabs readers is the 4th line where many easily identify with the first nips of winter via frost-etching nights. One is reminded that the seasons follow the natural laws of change. In particular, the circle presented in the first line symbolizes the idea that giving thanks is a continuous process.

Some poets simply write of autumn and child's play! Amongst all the time spent bustling, shopping, cooking, baking, and oh, yes: working!, any adult may yearn for the opportunity to just take a few moments, take a few steps and plunge into a huge pile of just-raked leaves! The crunching, the moist-iron scent of decaying leaves, and the springy plop into the middle of the leaves mingled with laughter and joyous yells: "Geronimo!"

Castles Of Colors
by Floria Kelderhouse

How I love to walk
On the dried fallen leaves
The sounds of crunching I hear.

Colors of brown, red and gold
Form a carpet so rich,
The sounds are a tune to my ear.

Rake them up in a pile,
Like castles of colors,
And then the children appear.
http://www.shadowpoetry.com/holiday/fall...

Readers can hear the crackling of crunching leaves as the narrator walks upon dried leaves. This audio imagery blends with the mixture of rich autumn colors. Readers may even hear the scrape of the rake scraping against the ground. The sense of child's play continues as the narrator compares the piles of leaves to castles.

The precise and concise form of the haiku often captures a single feeling or moment or vision that a person experiences. Although the season of autumn is longer than a fortnight, the appearance of frost is quietly quick. The morning brings hues of reds, oranges, and yellows. With a mere glance, one's breath deepens and the flicker of nature's autumn fires sparks the brilliance of colors. Such is what the following haiku embellishes:

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