Sunday Scenes – October 6, 2013

Autumn/fall is in the air! I love the cooler weather, although in CA, it is not always cooler in the autumn/fall season. The mornings are cooler and so are the evenings, but the daytime hours can be warm.

That is why, when I walk, I do it in the morning. It gives me the opportunity to feel the coolness against my face, and to breath in fresher air.

I enjoy reading Grace Paley’s poem, shown below. It brings to mind so many issues, including immigration, assimilation, ancestors, and family bonds. I hope you enjoy it too.

Autumn
By Grace Paley
1

What is sometimes called a
tongue of flame
or an arm extended burning
is only the long
red and orange branch of
a green maple
in early September reaching
into the greenest field
out of the green woods at the
edge of which the birch trees
appear a little tattered tired
of sustaining delicacy
all through the hot summer re-
minding everyone (in
our family) of a Russian
song a story
by Chekhov or my father

2

What is sometimes called a
tongue of flame
or an arm extended burning
is only the long
red and orange branch of
a green maple
in early September reaching
into the greenest field
out of the green woods at the
edge of which the birch trees
appear a little tattered tired
of sustaining delicacy
all through the hot summer re-
minding everyone (in
our family) of a Russian
song a story by
Chekhov or my father on
his own lawn standing
beside his own wood in
the United States of
America saying (in Russian)
this birch is a lovely
tree but among the others
somehow superficial

October 6, 2013 – 2 Cheshvan, 5774

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