The Cure for Anything

Look, the trees
are turning
their own bodies
into pillars

of light,
are giving off the rich
fragrance of cinnamon
and fulfillment,

the long tapers
of cattails
are bursting and floating away over
the blue shoulders

of the ponds,
and every pond,
no matter what its
name is, is

nameless now.
Every year
everything
I have ever learned

in my lifetime
leads back to this: the fires
and the black river of loss
whose other side

is salvation,
whose meaning
none of us will ever know.
To live in this world

you must be able
to do three things:
to love what is mortal;
to hold it

against your bones knowing
your own life depends on it;
and, when the time comes to let it go,
to let it go.

– Mary Oliver

I spent some time walking in the woods this weekend. I’d almost forgotten how much I like doing that, especially in the early fall. Growing up, I didn’t have the ocean, but I had the woods, literally right in my backyard. My friends and I would spend hours playing in the woods. I was an excellent tree climber!

The great thing about having so many trees was the huge piles of leaves we’d have each fall. The not-so-great thing was that we would have to rake all those leaves into said piles. My sibling and I spent many, many hours raking leaves. Hey, it did instill a great work ethic in me. I do believe that kids should have responsibilities and do chores, but that’s a whole other post. Anyhow, the piles would be so deep that when I jumped in, I’d be over my head. It was great fun. I’m sure we were filthy after playing all day in the leaves, but that’s a great thing about being a kid.

To do:
More walks in the woods! 🍂
Take a fall picnic.
Jump in leaves.