Listening to Autumn

By Macrina Wiederkehr

 Autumn is slipping through summer’s branches

and I am listening.

I am listening to the dying

flowing forth from autumn’s being.

I am listening to the life

hidden in the dying.

I am listening.

I am listening to the trees taking off their lush green garments.

I am listening to the trees turning, turning, ever turning.

I am listening to the burning bush of autumn.

I am listening to the falling of this season.

I am listening.

I am listening to the song of transformation,

to the wisdom of the season,

to the losses and the grieving,

to the turning loose and letting go.

I am listening to the surrender of autumn.

I am listening.

I am listening to the music of the forest’s undergrowth,

to the crunch of leaves beneath my feet,

to the miracle of crumbling leaves becoming earth again.

I am listening to the beauty and fragility of aging.

I am listening.

I am listening to the wheel of the year turning,

to the cycle of the seasons,

to the call for harmony and balance.

I am listening to the circle of life.

I am listening.

I am listening to days growing shorter,

to the air turning crisp and cool,

to the slow waning of light,

to the stars that shine in cold, dark nights.

I am listening to the growing harvest moon.

I am listening.

I am listening to happy harvest cries,

to hearts overflowing with thanksgiving,

to tables laden with gifts from the earth,

to baskets overflowing with fruit,

I am listening to the bountiful gift of autumn.

I am listening.

I am listening to a call for inner growth,

to my need to let go of material possessions,

to my need to reach out for invisible gifts.

I am listening to a call for transformation.

I am listening.

I am listening to the death of old ways.

I am listening to the life force turning inward.

I am listening to the renewal of the earth.

I am listening.

I am listening to summer

handing over to autumn.

I am listening to the poetry of autumn.

I am listening.

~ Macrina Wiederkehr

The Circle of Life: The Heart’s Journey Through the Seasons

By Joyce Rupp & Macrina Wiederkehr