Sunday, October 14, 2012

On Fear and Falling Leaves...


d’Verse Poets Pub Poetics: Poeticaphobia has invited us to share our fears this week. Sharing mine...













The leaves drop steadily, as
though last night’s frost
released some hidden trigger;
they race to hit the ground--
yellows, oranges, golds, reds
covering the lawn,
bidding final farewell
before frozen blanket again 
coats my world.

I observe this spectacle
from inside, and wonder 
of the trees bared weeks ago;
the gray ones, sap no longer
flowing to limbs' furthest reaches.
Will winter weigh heavy,
snapping limbs,  destroying hope
for another season, another chance?

My biggest fear…
not of of my own mortality,
as death is as inevitable…as
uncontrollable… as season’s change.

No, my fear is that of not living enough
to never experience all I hope to see,
people I’d like to meet , all the
wonders that lie waiting while I
juggle and struggle this reality
just to make ends meet

…no more leaves to drop,
fading into final season
without chance of at least one
ultimate, glorious farewell

©  Ginny Brannan October 2012

12 comments:

  1. Oh Ginny, this is grand...not living enough. You're really on the right track here. And presenting it by starting with the changing seasons is very effective. What a thoughtful piece.

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  2. i feel you....not living enough...and with that, did my life having meaning or did i just let it pass...i wanna live....death will come when it will....until then i wanna live...smiles....nice one ginny...

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    1. To quote Bon Jovi "I just wanna live while I'm alive!" :-)

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  3. just so...so much to do, will we get it all in? Or, at least enough of it to be satisfied.

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  4. Ginny, great piece. Here's my slightly older brotherly spin on things. We just have to go on living the best we can in the anticipation that spring is going to come. We can't dwell on what we haven't done yet but just keep putting out new buds and dropping seeds. Your parents' seed has sprouted and they live on through you (and Patrick).
    O.K. having said that, I still don't like winter!

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    1. Aww Charlie, thank you! Will be happy to see life through the eyes of a grandchild someday too, as you do now. Hugs, my brother/dearest friend! And thanks for pointing out "older" --that year makes a big difference, you know!! ;-P

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  5. My youngest thinks about death a lot. I tell him he's wasting so much energy on those thoughts when he could be doing something to enjoy the day. I know we can't do it all, but I'm appreciative of what we do.

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  6. Fear of not living enough...damn...i think about this everyday...for me...it was the death of my father that shook me up (and its a shame it took that to do it)- its not fear of mortality but acknowledgement of it...and then the fear sets in...a great write ginny

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  7. O what yearning, Ginny. You've observed the beauty of Autumn and an undertone of the 'fall' of the seasons, the time we feel sad, like when things and people die. Yet that yearning to do stuff, tick the boxes in your bucket list, and the fear of coming to the end and wishing you'd done the things you'd always wished you would... Oh such a melancholic feeling.

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  8. I can relate to that. Wondering if I'll get to do the things I long to...
    I like the photo as well.

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  9. Good capture of the worry and draining thought process of fear of not living...sort of like the glass that is half empty, but I understand where you have been..a big leap you have made;)

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  10. Fabulous poem, Gin. Even better philosophy. Both of which you have crafted with spirit and flair.

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Thank you for reading my poetry and sharing your thoughts.