An Ode to the Autumn Sun

I might fall in love with you, Autumn Sun. Your gentle rays caress my skin when it feels hard to face the day. You’re so different from your predecessor, he felt at times, ruthless in his touch. For me, it was too much, and I’d often get burned by his loving embrace that left me with no air to breathe or room to be.

Whereas you…

With you I feel I can be, you give me room. Your feather-like touch and tender kisses send me over the edge. Every morning when I greet you, it’s different. As I step outside, I feel I’m welcomed by my own personal potion.

Made of your strong rays, shadows, a bird’s song, the purple, red, and orange of the dying leaves, and the emerald of the leaves whose time has not come yet. The smell of burned wood traveling around between houses. My prayers. Walnuts falling on the black earth was the first taste of my warm coffee, which smelled like a place so far from here.

Oh yes, this was made especially for me. Brewed by Mother Nature and stirred by the Universe in a cauldron that I drew on a piece of paper not long ago. I could get drunk on this potion. Yet I chose to just take a sip, just a small one that I’m sure will still shock my system who’s still adjusting to Summer’s abrupt leave.

I hope this potion will help me integrate her harsh lessons, which at moments felt harsh. Mini-shocks to my system but much needed. I’m still recovering, but I know this potion will help, while at the same time, it will get me ready for the new season.

As I take a sip, I feel a whirlwind of sensations: warm blankets, a pumpkin in the oven, hot tea spilling over the table, crumbs from an apple pie, the fireplace warming my velvet skin. And above all, there’s silence, the kind of silence you feel at the end of Autumn when Winter slowly makes its way into our hearts.

And it’s cold.