Fall Fever

Traditionally people talk about experiencing Spring Fever. The dark days of winter are over and with new life bursting forth the air is full of possibilities. Spring Fever makes a lot of sense and I’m sure I’ve fallen victim to it over the years.

But, at least for me, Autumn is the season that seems to inspire me and fill me with energy and excitement. Maybe because growing up in the South I find myself enjoying letting go of the long hot days of summer and energized by cool breezes and slightly “crisper” air (though air in Houston isn’t never really “crisp”). This time of year I find myself suffering (joyfully) from Fall Fever.

I love ever moment of it!

Today a friend sent me a poem that a mutual friend (Sally Russ) wrote that captures my Fall Fever mood. Maybe you’ve experienced something similar to what she so beautifully describes:

Autumn knocked once and

I sighed like a martyr

and went to the door.

I am not to be charmed

By this kiss-and-run lover,

I’ve known him before.

I am braced for his hazel-flecked gaze

and the flash of his insolent grin.

“I am busy with summer,”

I tell him, as always,

“You cannot come in.”

But he laughs in my face

as he holds out the giftI can never withstand…

a maple leaf bright as a flame,

in the palm of his winter-chapped hand.