While walking home from my local coffee house this morning
I saw one rose clinging to a vine whose leaves had already turned
their autumn gold. Upon closer inspection, I saw a spider web had been woven above it.
The morning chill has not left the air and it’s almost ten AM.
The clouds above look like “weather clouds” as an old friend used to say.
The day feels wonderful, a perfect combination of not too cold, not too hot, a good excuse to wear a sweater. If I believe what my weather report
has to say I can count on a hot weekend. I don’t like that in November. I want rain and cool days to bake cookies and make soup.
I feel guilty asking for the snugly bits of autumn when it will mean so many will suffer. The suffering is growing by leaps and bounds in this climate of unstable economics. This atmosphere of fear breeds more panic. My family and friends warn me of the dangers of walking alone at night. So many reasons for alarm; I prefer to look at the blush on the rose. When I wake up I thank this Universal Source for what I do have. It is not the material things in life I am thankful for, while it is wonderful to have a roof,( I know the pain of sleeping couch to couch, two babies in tow). No I am grateful for being loved, I am grateful for living in a neighborhood that is not being bombed, I am grateful for the experience of you, my neighbor who will inquire about my well being, while I ask how your treatments are going. I am grateful for health care, broken as it is; our system will come through for almost everyone in great need, most of the time. (I lost a close friend, she fell between the cracks). I am not a Pollyanna, I know what is real, and I am grateful for that. I have much to be thankful for today. The last rose of summer, the crunchy leaves, the greeting from the folks walking their dogs, the UPS driver with the great smile. University Heights is a sweet corner of the world. I am grateful to live on this corner.
Susie Harris
November 12, 2008
While walking home from my local coffee house this morning
I saw one rose clinging to a vine whose leaves had already turned
their autumn gold. Upon closer inspection, I saw a spider web had been woven above it.
The morning chill has not left the air and it’s almost ten AM.
The clouds above look like “weather clouds” as an old friend used to say.
The day feels wonderful, a perfect combination of not too cold, not too hot, a good excuse to wear a sweater. If I believe what my weather report
has to say I can count on a hot weekend. I don’t like that in November. I want rain and cool days to bake cookies and make soup.
I feel guilty asking for the snugly bits of autumn when it will mean so many will suffer. The suffering is growing by leaps and bounds in this climate of unstable economics. This atmosphere of fear breeds more panic. My family and friends warn me of the dangers of walking alone at night. So many reasons for alarm; I prefer to look at the blush on the rose. When I wake up I thank this Universal Source for what I do have. It is not the material things in life I am thankful for, while it is wonderful to have a roof,( I know the pain of sleeping couch to couch, two babies in tow). No I am grateful for being loved, I am grateful for living in a neighborhood that is not being bombed, I am grateful for the experience of you, my neighbor who will inquire about my well being, while I ask how your treatments are going. I am grateful for health care, broken as it is; our system will come through for almost everyone in great need, most of the time. (I lost a close friend, she fell between the cracks). I am not a Pollyanna, I know what is real, and I am grateful for that. I have much to be thankful for today. The last rose of summer, the crunchy leaves, the greeting from the folks walking their dogs, the UPS driver with the great smile. University Heights is a sweet corner of the world. I am grateful to live on this corner.
Susie Harris
November 12, 2008