Still Life - Sept 24 2022

 

Still Life

Sept 24 2022

The lawn,

which, at the best of times

isn’t much to look at

with its bare patches

and scraggly weeds,

has gone dormant

with the first frost.

But still looks fresh and green

and inviting as ever.

Cut for the last time, this season,

and now for its long interregnum;

hibernating

under a bed of leaves

and blanket of snow.

And the mower, retired 'til spring

stowed in a corner

of the garden shed.

This is the feeling of fall;

time suspended and chores on hold

awaiting the first wet snow,

a welcome pause

between extremes of heat and cold.

Temperate weather

that suits my mood and temperament.

A golden September day

resting in my easy chair

gazing out at trees

standing where they’ve always been

outside the picture window.

It would be correct to say

I’m watching the leaves change,

but this is slower than human perception

and there's really nothing to see.

Molecules

in furious motion,

transforming themselves

beneath the still life.

But we know little of this

and see even less

in our constricted view of the world.

The multiple universe

physicists claim might exist

right here

directly in front of my eyes,

blind

to layer after layer

all the way down.

How we are trapped in our order of magnitude, imprisoned by our sense of time.