Summer days fade long before
dull darkening skies.
Autumn steals from the shadows.
© Alison Jean Hankinson
Summer days fade long before
dull darkening skies.
Autumn steals from the shadows.
© Alison Jean Hankinson
It was the autumn of our lives
Russet hues and ochre through the views that held our gaze as we forged ahead unfazed by the onset of middle age.
We had a sense of calm and oakened wisdom that only comes with the passage of time.
A patience and forbearance borne of familial love and desperation for our children to rise and thrive on the highest tides and not to sink and flounder in the murky depths of the recession’s doom and gloom.
It was the autumn of our lives and we could survive with less.
It was the autumn of our lives and we could smile at more.
No longer was it critical for the opening of the door to our desires and dreams
We became content to be thankful for the pleasures we had already received,
We were able to give with genuine compassion and cherish the gifts however small of each new day.
A sunrise, the crunch of leaves underfoot, a hand held for a moment too long,
The smell of freshly baked bread, a fragrant rose as the raindrops spilled from heaven above.
©Alison Jean Hankinson
Sunshine over Shap
Last embers of summer smoulder
Leaves linger lazily
Brittle against the breeze.
Once upon an autumn sunrise
We hung our lives out on the washing line
Pegged our pain and memories side by side
Peeled back the layers revealed the years of anguish
Aired the past and put it out to dry.
The gentle winds of autumn swept away the tears we shed
We both knew who we were and we collected all our worth
And meaning in one basket of crumpled washing.
We folded and sorted it and stuffed it back in the drawers
So no-one else could see.
Brittle against the breeze
Leaves linger lazily.
Last embers of summer smoulder
Sunshine over Shap.
©Alison Jean Hankinson
This is my contribution to Open Link Night at d’Verse.
Hibernating hedgehogs
Slumbering squirrels
Luscious leaves crunch beneath my feet
As autumn prevails
Ochre turns to burgundy
Mist upon the hills
Children wrapped up snuggly
To keep them safe from seasonal chills.
© Alison Jean Hankinson
This is for d’Verse meeting at the bar… is the season where many creatures are going to sleep for the winter- the trees were amazing today-but I only had my cellphone to get photos with…. I wanted to feel justified in my choice of burgundy….