Sunday 8 October 2017

Autumn


​This poem was written following a prompt of "Autumn" from Poets United.

Autumn

The leaves are falling,
elephant, tiger, rhino, pangolin.
Look; the leaves are falling,
coral reef, shark, narwhal, dolphin.
Out there leaves are falling everywhere,
arctic fox, walrus and polar bear.
Yes it's a tragedy
but no one seems to care.
We reel in horror when it's a few of our own
but complacent we sit and watch
as the last leaves fall.
Golden frog, striped newt,
redwood, teak, mahogany,
dragon fly, carpet moth, honeybee…
Winter's coming
and this time; there’ll be no spring.

John Carré Buchanan
07 October 2017


If you click on the link below you can listen to me read this poem.



This poem is linked to Poets United.

42 comments:

  1. John I love this poem... you've said it all, perfectly. Hope this gets a wider audience. We are just sitting back in a sense and letting ourselves go into winter.

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    1. Hi Thotpurge, thank you for your kind comment. I am glad you liked the poem.

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  2. There is sadness in this poem, John. So many beautiful "leaves" are continuing to fall year after year, and only a few seem to worry. We are WAY too complacent. I really like your VERY unique take on the autumn theme.

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    1. Hi Mary, thank you for your kind comment. I am glad you like my approach, I like to come at things from different angles :)

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  3. I love this, the loss, the fall, the memorial list.

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    1. Hi Colleen, thanks for your kind comment. I'm glad you enjoyed my poem.

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  4. This is a sad one. A countdown to no winter. Very bleak

    Thanks for dropping in at my Sunday Standard today

    Much💖love

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  5. The image of the different colors of the leave make the metaphor of autumn so much more than just the cycle of life. No spring (which bring me back to Rachel Carson)

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  6. I journeyed along through your falling leaves complacently ... until the last line socked me in the gut! A powerful write, John.

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    1. Hi Indybev, thank you for your comment. I'm glad you thought the poem was powerful, I wish I could reach further.

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  7. This is it exactly. It is a disaster when humans die, yet we are wiping out entire species, year upon year. Thank you for helping to raise awareness.

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    1. Hi Sherry, I will keep pushing and striving to raise awareness. Thanks for your comment and support.

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    2. Even more impact, reading it again, John. Jane Goodall just released a statement, wondering why humans, as supposedly the most intelligent species (which I do not believe, given the evidence), are destroying their own planet. Incomprehensible. But greed has gotten in the way of common sense.

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    3. Hi Sherry, Thanks you and Jane are so right.

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  8. A very sad write. Winter is coming (thank you for the Starks) but alas, no spring. I like how you combined the falling of leaves with the falling of things in our world.

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    1. Hi Toni, My pleasure on the Sharks, I wish more people would appreciate the vital role they play in our oceans. Thanks for your comment.

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  9. John this is so sad, so frightening because we all fear it may be true. Poets write of truth. You are a true poet.

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    1. Hi Myrna, Thank you for your compliment and your kind comment. I would like to think I am wrong, but somehow..... :(

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  10. This can be an allegory for the recent shootings. It's sad to think about. It can also just be about animals becoming endangered. I like your poem. Says a lot. Thanks.

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    1. Hi J.T, I must admit that the line about 'reeling in horror when it's a few of our own' was a direct reaction to the way we concentrate on events like the recent shootings. Sadly even within the way we react to those events we show a ridiculous complacency, if the event happens in the USA or Europe it's seen as a disaster, but in many other countries it is simply a couple of lines in a paper.

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  11. Excellent poem, John. A very interesting approach and very effective.

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    1. Hi Richard, thank you for your comment. I'm glad you liked the approach.

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  12. I can very well visualize a jungle in autumn here.

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  13. Wow! This is a match to Rilke's poem and I love it just as much! I see the earth as a tree now, as a family.

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    1. Hi Susan, Thank you for your kind comment. I'm glad you liked the poem.

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  14. I think this is an excellent poem john. I love the correlation you have made between the natural process of dying leaves and the extinction of species. Oh we should take heed! Trudie

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  15. probably the saddest of summations tagged to Autumn. it certainly brings awareness to what decline and extinction mean in numbers - a terrible imagining

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    1. Hi Telltaletherapy, Thanks for your comment. You are right it is terrible.

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  16. My heart is heavy after reading this poem. Surely, surely, we humans will wake up to the damage we are causing in this wide and wonderful world.

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    1. Hi MMT, Thank you for your kind comment. I wish we would wake up!

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  17. Poerful, sad and a beautiful write My heart turned for all the animals "on the list" and that it goes on without care and than the flatliner there'l be no spring

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    1. Hi Marja, Thank you for your comment, I'm glad that the poem spoke to you.

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  18. "Complacent we sit" Very wise and powerful words here John! Thought provoking and excellent writing!

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    1. Hi Carrie, thank you for your kind comment, I'm glad that you found the poem thought provoking.

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    2. This was an honest, and unique take on this prompt. I love it, and loved listening to you reading it.

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    3. Hi Sara, thank you for your comment, I am glad you enjoyed the audio!

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  19. A sad, and important poem, John. Thank you.

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I really appreciate constructive feedback. If you are able to comment it would be most grateful.