Meditation on the Grace, Flux & Fettle of Fall

Getting out in nature, among trees, in the fresh air, and even a little sun, is essential to your health, according to medical experts. Happily, here in Washington, DC, there are still wild forests and waterways to enjoy close by and in every direction - even right in the middle of the city, too.

Song for Autumn by Mary Oliver from New and Selected Poems: Volume II (Beacon Press)

In the deep fall don’t you imagine the leaves think how comfortable it will be to touch the earth instead of the nothingness of air and the endless freshets of wind? And don’t you think the trees themselves, especially those with mossy, warm caves, begin to think of the birds that will come — six, a dozen — to sleep inside their bodies? And don’t you hear the goldenrod whispering goodbye, the everlasting being crowned with the first tuffets of snow? The pond vanishes, and the white field over which the fox runs so quickly brings out its blue shadows. And the wind pumps its bellows. And at evening especially, the piled firewood shifts a little, longing to be on its way.