Heightened Synchronicity

(An apparently meaningful coincidence in

time of two or more similar or identical

events that are causally unrelated.)

The men of science call it “senescence,”

what we all face, deterioration and our own mortality,

a storing away for the encroaching cold,

dormant in the winter months ahead.

“Chlorophylls breaking down give rise to carotenoids

and anthocyanins,” they tell us, turning green leaves

to red and yellow, orange to brown, and dropping,

floating down to coat my lawn, covering it in muted hues.

Sighing, I begin the task of raking and removing,

piling high faded leaves, bagging them to be taken away

or burned on a smoldering heap; leaning heavy on my rake,

a thin trail of acrid smoke rises, igniting memories.

It’s become an almost daily task now, combing the yard

again and again, piling and bagging, burning,

a reminder of my own impending doom, remembering.

But for me, rather, no man of science,

Autumn is a backroad trip, a wandering taken slowly,

or a wooded trail, sunlight reflected, splashed

on earth’s fall colors, heightened and vivid,

changing as summer fades too quickly to fall.

The air is cool, a refreshment in these shortened days,

winter yet too far away to be a bother, time still

to watch the seasons change and to reflect -

         Autumn’s kaleidoscopic display recycles once again

         as will Spring’s, arriving in its own time, nature’s way.

Autumn, now, expresses my own life’s journey

through these changes around me, recycled and renewed in time,

even as I pull a rake around my yard,

green leaves turned to red and yellow, orange to brown,

a phenomenon I can’t explain, nor care to –

living it is enough for me.