Here are two parts of Linda Pastan's twelve-part poem, The Months:
October
How suddenly
the woods
have turned
again. I feel
like Daphne, standing
with my arms
outstretched
to the season,
overtaken
by color, crowned
with the hammered gold
of leaves.
November
These anonymous
leaves, their wet
bodies pressed
against the window
or falling past—
I count them
in my sleep,
absolving gravity,
absolving even death
who knows as I do
the imperatives
of the season.
Pastan has perfectly captured the changes that have taken place between the glowing, sunny October images in my mosaic, and the chilly, dark dampness we now have. Her whole twelve-part poem describes an entire year just as effectively. It's sometimes hard to remember the oppressive heat of summer or the delights of the first buds of spring at this point in the swing of the seasons, but her poem takes you right back. Poetry is good for that -- holding onto what is fleeting.
JoAnn at Teaching Authors has the roundup today. Go over and see what other poems this fall day has in store for you!
Fantastic array of pix, Mary Lee. I love them! Thanks for sharing these poems. I esp love
ReplyDeletecrowned
with the hammered gold
of leaves.
and the idea of absolving gravity. I can't quite forgive gravity for what it's doing to me:>) But I like the theory!
You make me want to read the whole year, Mary Lee! My favorite parts are the same as Laura's -- beautiful imagery!
ReplyDeleteHi, Mary Lee. What a beautiful poem -- I love Daphne with the golden leaves. I'm going to go look for the rest of the poem.
ReplyDeleteLovely. Thanks for the introduction to this poem. Great pics, too.
ReplyDeleteLinda Pastan is one of my favorite poets to read! Thank you for sharing her poem in this space--I hope you all check out more of her lovely work.
ReplyDeleteI really need to figure out how to make a mosaic of my own. Any tips where to start--where to find a good tutorial?
These anonymous
ReplyDeleteleaves, their wet
bodies pressed
against the window
Wow that is a fresh, stunning way of saying what we keep seeing! I want to write about leaves but am afraid it will all be cliche. These poems bust out of all that and I love it! Thanks for sharing them!
Another wonderful, interesting, inspiring mosaic, Mary Lee -- and I hadn't seen Pastan's poem before. What a treat -- thanks so much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteLike Laura, I love the hammered gold of leaves. :)
Thanks for posting Pastan's poem. I'd never read it before. I love it--and the pictures too!
ReplyDeleteWow, does she capture October so well. I loved the lines, "crowned/with the hammered gold/of leaves," too. Thank you for sharing her work!
ReplyDeleteThat is cool, Mary Lee. Great choice for the mosaic. Last week I tried standing under a tree to absorb some of the wonderful color. I didn't succeed, but enjoyed the attempt!
ReplyDeleteMary Lee, Your mosaics always inspire me to remember your posts and also the days I've left behind. They're like tiny notebooks, in photo. Happy Poetry Sunday! A.
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