Friday, November 09, 2018

Poetry Friday: "Impossible Light, Improbable Hope"

This is the time of year when I love looking at people's fall photos (the one below is one my daughter sent me a couple of years ago).  (Edited to add: My daughter sent the first snow photo of the year this morning, so maybe this post is a little late!) It's not a particularly colorful season where I live; it's rainy and green, which is pleasant, and the summer heat has finally eased, but we don't have dramatic foliage. I don't miss the frost and chill from the United States, but I do love to see the beautiful fall color.

Here's an autumn poem for the season:

“What Else”
by Carolyn Locke

The way the trees empty themselves of leaves,
let drop their ponderous fruit,
the way the turtle abandons the sun-warmed log,
the way even the late-blooming aster
succumbs to the power of frost—

this is not a new story.
Still, on this morning, the hollowness
of the season startles, filling
the rooms of your house, filling the world
with impossible light, improbable hope.

Here's the rest.
 And here's today's roundup.

8 comments:

Irene Latham said...

Such a beautiful poem! We can learn so much from nature. Thank you for sharing, Ruth. xo

jama said...

Thanks for introducing me to Locke's work!! Fab poem, reassuring.

Linda B said...

Beautiful sentiment, to be hollowed and waiting to fill up with hope. I see that you miss our fall colors, but I love the color you share from Haiti, also gorgeous, Ruth.

Tabatha said...

That poem is exactly why I love poetry. Thanks, Ruth!

Michelle Heidenrich Barnes said...

Hope from hollowness... improbable, maybe, but such a beautiful sentiment. I'm grateful to have read this today, Ruth. Thank you.

Linda Mitchell said...

Oh, how beautiful in very few words. That state of waiting in the autumn sun....unfiltered. Brilliant poem

Kay said...

"impossible light, improbable hope" -- words to cling to. Our leaves have mostly dropped and we had our first sprinkling of snow this week. I'm one of the few who enjoys the cold!

Michelle Kogan said...

Rich poem and image, I like the ending, "but waiting in the autumn sun?" that makes it all the worth while, those few warm moments, thanks Ruth!