It might not feel very fall-like as I write this, on a brilliant late September day, but I am feeling that seasonal change. Juliette had to memorize a poem at school (so many poems!) and it sums up the change and emotions that go with it quite well. As I helped her learn it, I now know it, too!
Un champignon et trois marrons
Sont venus en délégation
Accompagnés de feuilles mortes
Ils ont frappés à ma porte.
"Avis à la population!
Aujourd'hui, changement de saison.
Mettez les vacances au placard
Voici l'automne et le brouillard."
Didier Dufresne
English translation:
A mushroom and three chestnuts
Came in a delegation
Accompanied by dead leaves
They knocked at my door.
"Notice to the population!
Today the seasons change
Put your holidays in the closet
Here is autumn and the fog."
Ok, slightly less poetic when translated, but it does feel like we're turning a page. Vacation memories are farther back in our mind. School is back in swing, work routines settling in. Days are still long but we feel them creeping in on us in the morning and evening now, condensing time. As my mom said, this season seems to bring out emotions and melancholy like no others.
Does it mirror our own fear of ageing, I wonder? Now is the autumn of our lives. Sometimes I feel I am in that season now. (Coincidentally, I am an "autumn", in the color scheme and feel my warmest and coziest in those colors.) The end of the year is coming soon, and I wonder if I've done all I wanted this time around.
And so we feel like hunkering down, storing our nuts and settling in for a long autumn's nap. We can do that in autumn, right? I am not quite ready for the glittery lights of the holiday seasons, but Halloween and a walk in crunchy leaves are coming soon, so I better get used to it. And I won't forget my scarf.
What emotions does autumn evoke in you?
3 comments:
Autumn does make me melancholy, and sometimes I just can't tell why. The light has a more amber hue, the leaves look gorgeous, but I know they are falling and will soon reveal bare branches. I love the cooler weather (We Southerners DO appreciate the free air conditioning and being able to open windows at night for a bit.)I find that I get very inspired artistically around this time of year, probably by the fresh crispness of the air, so it's a bipolar time--I'm sad for some reason, and thrilled for another.
It's also a great time to eat soups, chili, and warm cheesy casseroles.
And wear cozy neck scarves for a reason other than fashion!
Love the little poem Juliette is learning.
Autumn reminds me that summer is over. Sunny warm summer. Now it's time to watch the leaves turn color, bundle up, and days getting shorter. It does make me feel a bit sad. Transition has always been hard for me. I do know that once we get to Dec. 21st, the days start getting longer!
I love that poem, that is exactly how autumn comes in! It is still a little warm here at times for scarves, but I have been wearing them in spite of this fact (and just having to cope with the sweat) because they make me feel so autumnal!
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