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Fall Ending

Walking through the carpet of fallen leaves in my neighborhood recently, I recalled this Stanley Kunitz poem

Blue poured into summer blue,
A hawk broke from his cloudless tower,
The roof of the silo blazed, and I knew
That part of my life was over.

I don't pretend to know what Kunitz had in mind when he wrote these lines. But that afternoon seeing the leaves under my feet and the the cerulean blue of the sky above, I did feel "That part of my life was over". In the sense of what the year has been so far, the near misses and scares I had with the health of both parents. Learning my childhood friend is fighting for her life and going through the full roller-coaster of emotions after that. That afternoon was about feeling grateful that my parents are both still around, my friend is still in the fight and we are planning to meet. The part about being in a state of constant dread is over. I am glad that fall has put a clear division between what has been and what I want to look forward. The golden hued fallen leaves are about second chances and not about lost ones. They are spectacular.



 


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