"Glory" by Terri Lynn Cummings

Glory

Terri Lynn Cummings 

Once, a garden, graceful as a maiden

ornamented a palace. Laughter 

braided garlands, breeze whispered 

through trees like a low, winter fire

All surrendered to the slow

autumn burn, clearing land 

for old and new 

Black branches waved sparklers

of leaves—brilliant thatches of

orange, red, yellow dripping

molten onto dull patches of grass

Maple tree dropped large, flat notes

of summer onto a table of earth 

Leaving! they declared, waltzing 

into a grove of oaks multiplying 

nightfall. Shadows stretched one limb

to another in greeting, spoke of fasts

and long, frantic prayers for an early spring

Dogs barked, demanding to be let inside 

Noise raced over night’s cold air

yet stars stayed silent as ancestors

Beyond the garden glimmers home 

Laughter braids garlands

breeze whispers through trees 

like a low, winter fire

All surrenders to the slow 

autumn burn, clearing land

for old and new

Poet’s Notes:  I had looked out the window to this scene. How moving the march from fall to winter and back! The loss of a nephew made this fall particularly poignant—a painful reminder that nothing stays the same except change. Yet, over the years, I learned loss turns to light and dark again, like the seasons. In writing this poem, I looked outward, inward, and outward again. Until I wrote these notes, I had not realized my poem was a metaphor for personal loss.

Editor’s Note:  This will be the last we hear from Terri for a little while.  She has requested and been granted a leave of absence from her Frequent Contributor commitment.  It will be a joy to welcome her back when she is ready.