What Goes Around Comes Around
June, month of light; it never gets dark
I am up early and go to bed late.
I watch the sun move in a circle around the sky,
Changing the color of the birch leaves
Who knew there were so many shades of green?
July, endless summer and it’s getting old.
The days never end,
The mosquitoes have gone.
I am tired of the sun.
I am tired of green.
I am tired.
August.
Here comes the rain again bringing the colors with it.
Mushrooms poke their yellow and red heads from the brown earth,
While high bush cranberry leaves blush crimson red.
Every morning I go outside and breathe in deeply,
Hoping to feel the first bite of fall filling my lungs,
As a golden birch leaf falls silently to my feet.
September’s golden hills surround me.
I walk on a carpet of yellow leaves
That have let go of summer and have fallen like the sun
Finally we have night again.
October and the world is transformed from dead brown
To crystal white as the snow falls magically from a gray sky.
It is time to hibernate with my candles,
And my Christmas lights,
And my books and yarn,
And myself.
November, December—darker and darker,
I feel more and more joyful with each passing day.
The peace and tranquility of the dark mornings
Fill me with gratitude for all I have,
And all that I am.
I sit and enjoy the silence and give thanks.
January and the light returns,
Six more minutes each day.
Outside in my purple parka on a clear –40 degree day,
Even my breath is brittle.
It feels like it will shatter and crash to the ground in tiny pieces
To blend with the snow that crunches under my feet
Sparkling like a carpet of diamonds.
April and May and winter gives way.
The white melts into brown, as my mood turns black.
Piles of filthy snow sit in parking lots and along roadways.
Driveways and dirt roads become lakes of mud.
I can hear the mosquitoes breeding.
Turning my face to the sky,
I desperately search,
Hoping to see a faint wash of green against the blue,
That tells me the birch leaves are budding
And will soon be back.
Are there really that many shades of green?
