Poet’s Corner: A New Earth, Her Name is ‘Autumn,’ Best of Times? Worst of Times?

Here is the latest installment of Poet’s Corner, presented by the Edmonds Poetry Group.

A New Earth

“Somewhere over the rainbow, skies are blue, and the dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true. Someday I’ll wish upon a star and wake up where the clouds are far behind me. Where troubles melt like lemon drops, away above the chimney tops, that’s where you’ll find me!” “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” – Harold Arlen / E. Harburg

When did I stop hearing the lullabies of my childhood? 
Where are the songs of rainbows that brought respite to my fears? 
When did the beginnings of my youth end and the endings begin? 
My ruby-red slippers don’t ‘click’ anymore… uncertainty overwhelms me! 

Wake up, O Sleeper! Your day of reparation approaches like a plague of locusts and roaches! 
Do you see it on the horizon? Are your lamps filled with oil? 
Are you seeking Holy guidance and direction? Do you hear Creation’s groanings, 
the cries of Mother Earth and the wailings of her children? 

I contemplate the Pleiades and Orion, the Seven Sisters 
blazing hope’s luminescence through the twilight of thousands of years. 
The culmination of tears that watered your promised Canaan land – 
you were there once before, do you remember? 
There will be no rest until you return, long sweet dreams remind you of this! 

Beware now…all the veils have been rent, there is no curtain, and there is no Wizard! 
The road has unexpectedly diverged; you must trust the unpredictable path ahead. 
Become who you were created to be. Listen with your eyes. Watch with your ears. 
Hold your creative energy as a precious treasure. 
Nurture your individual divine artistic expression. 
Appreciate that unforeseen current events will birth opportunities of a newer calling! 

Embrace the Light, 
become friends with Wisdom and Truth… 
we’re heading home! 

Donna M. Rudiger

~ ~ ~ ~

 Her Name is “Autumn” 

 She’s a world traveler, prodigy of opportunity, visiting us 
yearly, disseminating inspiration, hope and satiric humor! 
Like a floating vision, she arrives joyfully singing, 
sauntering up the garden path to embrace us. 
Her bowed mouth blows kisses to us through the sunlight. 
Her auburn hair dances like golden Colorado aspens swaying 
in a Rocky Mountain breeze. Caramel-colored eyes framed by 
bronze brows, illuminate smiles from her cherubic face, 
freckles twinkle across the borders of her cheeks. 

An unplanned legacy, she arrived one September afternoon, 
completely rerouting our destiny into the personas of parenthood. 
Gifting us with unexpected challenges and adventures, 
we welcomed our new roles as mentors and guardians of her Spirit. 

Now forty autumns have traversed our days, 
magnifying her heart and presence in our lives. 
She’s a reminder of places we’ve traveled, 
a reflection of people we’ve loved, 
a living expression of favorite song lyrics, book quotes, 
late night chats and our desire to be uniquely loved. 
As the catalyst for teaching us to embrace uncertainty, 
she brought fresh water to the dry well of our souls. 
We press on…our cups overflowing with her gentle goodness! 

For some, the autumn season initiates emotional defoliation and
metamorphosis. Aging alters us in ways unknowable in youth. 
Later decades of life incite regrets concerning unmet goals, 
unwritten stories and poems, unfulfilled dreams…. 
perhaps part of another wrinkle in time. 
Imprinted with wounds from those we’ve nurtured along the way, 
we hold letters written but never sent, photos taken but never shared. 
What once was, may not be desirable or achievable at this juncture. 
The road not taken no longer beckons us! 

Presently, we pursue another path divinely ordained by Greater Good.
Everything we’ve experienced redefined us as heroes! 
She’s preparing for another journey, traveling abroad next year. 
And I’m reticently reminded once again….. 
”Ain’t no sunshine when she’s gone, 
it’s not warm when she’s away, and 
this house just ain’t no home, 
anytime she goes away!” 

Bill Withers: “Ain’t No Sunshine” 

Donna M. Rudiger

~ ~ ~ ~

Best of Times? Worst of Times?

“Oh, to be alive in such an age, when miracles are everywhere, and every inch of common air throbs a tremendous prophecy, of greater marvels yet to be.”

Walt Whitman, Leaves of Grass, p.14 (1855) 

We now inhabit days that demand exceptional 

forbearance, 

forgiveness, 

fortitude, 

leaving no space for tears or regrets. 

And these may be days of 

forgotten promises finally kept! 

Another opportunity to learn about 

living on the precipice of unavoidable change, 

in the winds of accelerated awakening. 

Enlightenment triggers 

denied emotions and illogical paradoxes 

demanding we become 

catalysts for change. 

Creativity flowers, thriving in the 

fertile compost of adversity. 

My pet belief systems reveal the 

caverns of my soul still protecting 

sacred parts of my childlike essence. 

I will stand for truth and justice… 

I will not surrender to the debacles 

of the dark lords of this day! 

Donna M. Rudiger

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

Donna has been writing poetry and prose since her adolescent years growing up in southeastern Pennsylvania. An active participant of several writing groups in the Puget Sound area, she’s an award-winning published poet, a member of the Academy of American Poets and teaches poetry workshops. Her work has been published in Soundings from the Salish Sea in 2018, the Skagit River Anthology in 2021 and 2022, previous issues of the My Edmonds News Poetry Corner, and most recently in Bards West in December, 2024. She’s a retired technical writer and enjoys rustic living in the Cascade foothills of Arlington. You may contact her at dmrudigerauthor@gmail.com.