"The Reckoning" by Terri Lynn Cummings

The Reckoning

Terri Lynn Cummings

Curls unfurl into spring

and gardens sprout children –

each with a story of their own

like bees and dreams and streets

The tooth of summer

hones its bite on staring skin

and the hustle of wind

from the billion candles of childhood 

Sunlight shimmies down willows

and falls into shapes

like eyebrows raised in question

or thumbs hitching a ride to autumn

Showers of color ebb and flow

heady and sharp like flames of a fire

spines of wood emptying the page

clearing the path for a new story

Nature straddles the sled of winter

dons the meaning of every change 

hails the race of thrift and drift

to the dark prize of homecoming

Curls unfurl into spring

and gardens sprout children –

each with a story of their own

like bees and dreams and streets….

Change rattles in pockets and purses

adding up to the sum of all seasons

though promise demands my patience (aloof)

hoeing the long lane to heaven

Poet’s Notes:  The changing of a season beckons my reflections on past and future. Seasons of birth, childhood, maturity, aging, death, and renewal are depicted in nature. Such lessons help to stem the tide of worry about mortality, if only we open our eyes and minds.