Wednesday, September 30, 2020


Ah, the glowing begins...

Noticing.
For the past seven years
Since I've been living
Here in my 18th-floor
eyrie,
Looking westward over the Don River,
I've shown you the autumn colours
In their more developed glory
At the end of October.

But this year, sequestered as I continue to be,
I'd like to show you how autumn glows
As it all begins.
Indeed,
Ever since moving to Toronto in 1978
The view of the west bank of the Don River
Has marked my tracing of the seasons.
The habit:
Sit on the south side of the subway car
Next to a window
Facing west...
And marvel at how much difference
Each day brings...
Mornings and evenings.
But especially the mornings.

These days my altitude has altered
But my wonder continues
Unabated.
This month I offer you
Yesterday's view of that same west bank
At dawn...
When the sun is just high enough to
Light the skyline buildings
And to pick out the glowing oranges
Yellows that I watch
Each day.

I can't really count the leaves
As they change each day,
But I feel the incremental
Shifting. Almost hour-by-hour.
The sun rises further south
Each day, of course.
And later, too.
These are some of my
Daily noticings.

Others include
How flexible my ageing
Frame feels.
How dust motes float
But seem to show their
Landing spots as the sun
Progresses in its daily descent...
Just before its glare becomes
Altogether too much and I must
Pull curtains across my
Glorious view...

Only to open them again
After the sun sets
Revealing
My nighttime views...
Sans colours in the valley,
Of course,
But skyline alit
As if to say
I'm still here.

Me, too.

...
If this isn't nice, what is?

              ~ Kurt Vonnegut, of course