The Landscape is Erased
In this late fall the sounds abate,
with distant twitters across a garden gate.
Long gone is the sound of rustling leaves,
an eerie silence sets the stark scene.
In the quiet of the garden that must relent,
all that remains is the wind’s lonely lament.
And the rhythm of the rain is sadly replaced,
with an icy, white sheen as the landscape is erased.
©Donna Donabella 2018
I started this poem late last fall when winter started. And this past week, winter has come too early with 3 storms in a row and 2 feet of snow with frigid temps in the teens and 20s…..making me lament for a bit more fall as we have had very little.
I am joining in with Poets United for their weekly poetry link up for poets who blog.
I leave you with a few additional words about the Landscape is Released. I welcome you to download the photo and share it.
All other photos and original content is copyrighted and the sole property of Donna Donabella @ Living From Happiness, 2014-2018. Any reprints or use of other photos or content is by permission only.
Beautiful and sad. A stark and quiet lament. Love the imagery of the landscape being erased.
I think your comment sums up how I feel when winter comes. Happy you enjoyed it.
I think this is how winter feels like… the colors and sounds are being replaced by something else… but maybe it’s just a canvas to fill with ourselves?
I love that thought Bjorn….it is exactly how I feel…. more reflective in winter and I work on inner growth.
I think we got some of your fall here – it is still golden and sunny and there are still some leaves on the trees……….a bit of a worry as by now we should be deep into the winter rains. Our rainforest must be so thirsty. A beautiful poem, and I always love photos of your gorgeous garden, beautiful in every season.
Thank you Sherry….we had a drought this summer but it has been replaced with excessive rain and cooler temps in a shortened fall and now snow. I am thankful for the rain and snow in my garden.
I am happy with the ‘erasure’ of this poem. I see it as a time to regather, to repair, to renew. The erasure of fire is a whole different issue.
I couldn’t agree more Soosie!
Your poem is mesmerising, Donna, with its hint of ominous warning in the eerie silence and the landscape being erased.
Winter has felt like that this year so far Kim….I think we are in for a wild ride. And thank you for your lovely compliment.
I agree with Kim 🙂 the imagery in this poem is both poignant and achingly beautiful! Especially like; “In the quiet of the garden that must relent, all that remains is the wind’s lonely lament.”
Oh wow that is such a wonderful compliment my friend…..that is one of my favorite lies as well!
I like that you let us see the transition, and that by the way your lines erase the landscape (in layers and layers…) we are left knowing that what has been blanketed is not truly gone.
Thank you dear Magaly….you are a most discerning woman and poet to catch that transition.
You have captured the changing landscape and the use of rhyme gives the poem warmth. Snow came early here as well blanketing the earth. This was truly a wonderful read today.
Thank you so much for these words….I hope our winter is not too hard, and that we have a few thaws. It makes it pass easier to see the green landscape from time to time.
I do not envy your winter .Your garden is beautiful.Keep warm.
Thanks Rall I will!
Wow! What a – truly layered – title and closing line – and some wonderful rhyme in this. You’ve done a stellar job expressing the visceral mood that seems to come over us-and-the-land in ‘this late fall’.
Such high praise my dear Wendy…thank you from the bottom of my heart!
That was quite the landscape! Well envisioned.
ZQ
Thank you my friend
how stark indeed is the wind’s lonely lament!
Yes it does feel that way in winter here.
The rhymes are such a rich element in this verse. The wind’s lonely laments speaks to me. Well penned!
Thank you so much.
Very beautifully said.
Thank you Rosemary.
Beautiful. I;ll send you some sunshine from New Zealand
Thank you and that would lovely to have some of your sun.
The sights and sounds of both autumn and winter are beautifully described and the last couplet closes the story of seasonal transition perfectly! Lovely read!
Oh thank you Poppy so much for a lovely compliment. It means so much to me.
Lament not Donna – the garden and gardener are at rest!
Thank you my friend….you know the perfect thing to say!
And the rhythm of the rain is sadly replaced,
with an icy, white sheen as the landscape is erased.
There is an element of despondency with the encroachment of the cold months. Wonderful word-craft Donna!
Hank
Thanks Hank. Yes I think when winter comes early there is that feeling of despondency indeed.