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FALLING
by Terry OlynikA hushed Autumn descends, apologetically,
Suspending the flow of life-giving juices.
Leaves unhinge, their legions
Tumbling, crisp-veined corpses,
Imparting backbone and velvet
To the lung- caressing air.
The smiling Sun King, his potency waning,
Accepts his reduced workload with grace and relief.
Sun-baked creatures stir instinctively,
Earth's nose-twitching handmaidens -
Sensing the mantle's dwindling energy
Through thickening paw pads.
A million tiny deaths, seen and sensed,
Unfolding in ordered orchestration -
Nature's unforgiving technicolor prelude
To ordained, habitual rebirth.
A fitting, finite requiem
Rehearsed through all eternity.
11/04/2005 Author's Note: A reworking of a previous submission
Posted on 11/04/2005
Copyright © 2025 Terry Olynik
| Member Comments on this Poem |
| Posted by Karl Waldbauer on 05/13/06 at 03:28 AM This went to my favorites list. You've done such a fine job with the construction of the poem, with such an easy flow, that I could pay full attention to the images in my mind. I especially like the way you've depicted the cycles of destruction and rebirth in such an upbeat manner. Excellent work. |
| Posted by Clara Mae Gregory on 10/27/14 at 04:22 PM *stellar* |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 10/28/14 at 03:49 PM It's always a treat to read your works when you share some deeper thoughts. I really enjoyed the "nose-twitching handmaidens", along with the rest of the rich, seasonal vocabulary here. Please share more. Thank you. |
| Posted by Kristina Woodhill on 08/26/15 at 02:31 PM Thanks for posting this one center stage. Terry was a funny fellow - putting out silly haikus and short poems, some outrageous or nutty. This one touched me even more the first time I read it because it was like he finally shared the other side of himself. What a fitting poem to go along with his self-written obituary. The man was an original. I'm glad to have known the little bits that he was willing to share. |
| Posted by Laura Doom on 09/01/15 at 06:04 PM Sprung? |
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