The autumn leaves turned late this year, and some of them are still hanging on in their red and gold glory. Before they’re entirely gone, I wanted to share a favorite exuberant poem and a new writing exercise.
“I say” is a love letter to autumn and color and jazz, from B. Chelsea Adams, the author celebrated in this page’s first “Spotlight.” The poem, used with her permission, is from her Finishing Line chapbook, At Last Light.
I say
. . . yes to autumn
its intense colors
deep bronzes, oranges, and golds.
An adult season,
which has known clouds,
been blinded by sun, frozen ice solid,
caressed by a tender wind.
An adult season,
where the shameless red maple,
alluring and vibrant,
shatters the late afternoon.
I want it to keep on—
its deep color
a warm thrust in my belly,
a sensual brush across my lips,
like jazz,
the drum thumping in my chest,
the pulsating strings of the bass,
the truth told by the alto sax,
a truth that disturbs the sleep
of dried leaves.
B. Chelsea Adams, 2012
Saying Yes: A Writing Prompt
When I heard Chelsea read “I say” aloud, I was struck by the love in her poem and the warmth in her voice. It hit me that I had been inundated with messages of rage, sorrow, grief . . .
There is a time for all of those things. But there’s also a time to say “yes.” To celebrate what we love, what thrills us, what we find so beautiful it hurts the heart. That week I went into my Poetry Writing class with a new exercise, one both simple and open-ended.
Ready? Write the words, “I say yes to . . .”
Now finish the sentence.
Go for the specific and the sensory. Try to dig deeper than just a list. (But I love lists myself!) Dig deep into all the rich, wonderful details about what you love. As you write, relish that love. Make it as real and vivid as you can, Just live in that exuberance for a while.
And enjoy those leaves as long as they last.
Photographs by MaryBeth Glenn, Autumn 2021.
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