AUTUMN
A Way Among the Leaves
DRAPER’S PAPER ROUTE
AUTUMN
by Adam Carroll Draper
A glimpse of heaven rains on a soul
Like the soft showers of May
Unfold a hiding life in yellow (in red),
Singing symphonies of ecstasy,
Drinking fragrant streams of forever.
Though the wash of the moment fades,
Autumn’s blaze can stir the deep,
Whispering of an end, floating bright
Pangs in the cinnamon remains.
The vision graces those it touches
With the residue of Elysium,
Sounding in our spirits like the wind,
Painting emblems of eternity
On our souls, easing fears of pain.
It’s the sweetness of the rain,
Contentment of the dew.
A fall mountain’s passion can lose
A day to blissful dreams,
Languor of spring’s raptured kiss,
Longing now in patient wait.
I first wrote that poem some years ago. As always happens when I try to publish one on here, I can’t get it to keep from double spacing, so I apologize for my lack of savy in this regard. This poem has changed a bit over the years. I won’t ruin it now with analysis. My favorite memory of many such happy ones in Ron Mahan’s class on the Romantics is his discussion of Wordsworth’s plaintive recognition, “We murder to dissect.”
Art is like life and beauty. It takes on its meaning for us in how it is beheld, by whom it is beheld. My poetry becomes art for me when someone finds a meaning in it that is unintended yet entirely consistent and vibrant. In that way, the poem has its own life, taking on a meaning at once given to it and kept by the person regarding it. Art is a glimpse of the divine working in us, dusted lightly upon our waking life with eternal meaning that draws us home.
St. Paul said that we all have a “kernel of faith” within us. We each encounter faith and hope differently. Because he is the truth, It does not offend my profound faith in Yeshua to recognize that others find truth in beauty and goodness in ways unseen by me. Goodness and beauty ultimately refer us and draw us to the light, our God, who is the fountain of all goodness and beauty. We share that.
For believers, secured by the Lord’s death and resurrection, Yeshua is the joy we shine and the hope that keeps us from fleeing in terror of truth on that great day when we stand naked before eternity. We shine this to everyone by being in joy, by remaining in peace when calamity breaks. The truth is beheld in ways we cannot possibly intend.
If you got anything out of this missive, please give it a thumbs up, comment and/or share it. It helps. I sincerely appreciate that you took time to read this.