Fading Glory
Which color is more true,
the rust of leaves that turn
their back on gaudy display
as they cling to an oak in October,
or the vibrancy reflected
in the stream below, shouting
the grandeur of its passing?
The sun will set on both, before long.
This is my response to Quadrille #89 – Are You Set? — the prompt from Merril at dVerse, which is to use the word set in a 44-word poem that does not require meter or rhyme.
Image: Sunset on the Missouri River at St. Thomas, Missouri
rivrvlogr 
I hope I can trust the vibrant light… but maybe after sunset it doesn’t matter… all we have is the memory.
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Enjoy it while it lasts!
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I like your poetic question–especially since I’m a bit obsessed with reflections (in every sense of the word). 🙂 Beautiful photo. I feel sad for people who stop thinking a sunrise or sunset is not special.
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Thank you, Merril. Something that causes me to pause to admire, if only for a moment, has to be special.
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I agree.
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Color means many things, and as dusk sets the color drains into dark silhouettes. Your poem reflects these things, Ken.
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Thank you, Lisa. Your thoughts underline the fact that it’s a process as well as a moment.
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You are welcome, Ken.
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Good question. I for one vote for both. Both are special.
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Thank you. Complementary.
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The leaves and water reflect the sunset. Nature uses and reuses all the colours.
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I like that idea. Thanks, Jane.
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🙂
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This is stunning Ken.
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Thank you, Linda. 🙂
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We’ve yet to begin the “gaudy display” in my part of the world. My favorite time of year! Great poem.
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Darkness resolves the question temporarily, I heard a deeper question for me about lived futures, missing the passing of beauty and our ignoring nature.
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Something that comes too easily for some people. Thank you.
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Yes, I’d agree, my pleasure too.
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In them moment, the now of your poem, I think the reflection on water would be the more authentic color, but on the water, the color is temporary; on the leaves, it last for weeks
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Both have their qualities. Thank you.
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What a gem, Ken! Stellar last line too!
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Thank you, Lynne. I like to think of that line as end-of season as much as end-of day.
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Yes, it works on many levels!
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Evokes the mood of this seasons’ changing, lovely poem
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Thank you. 🙂
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Those oaks are nothing like the maples for color. The whole autumn is beautiful.
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I miss the maples of Western New York. They are far fewer here, in Missouri.
Thank you, Frank.
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Love the images you painted with words in this poem. Enjoyable read. 🙂
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🙂 Thank you.
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Like Merril, reflections are often on my mind/vision. And which is the original? (who’s dreaming who, as the song says) (K)
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When I slow as I kayak, my wake passes me. As much as I enjoy the sharp image of the reflection, I like the dream effect the ripples add to it.
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Water enhances many things.
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I think both colors are true it’s a matter of perspective in that moment of light.
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I agree. Which version we accept is dependent on our state of mind. Thank you.
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Wonderful contemplation Ken, rich in Autumnal essence.
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Thanks, Rob. The sycamores are the only ones starting to show change, right now. I plan to go on the water again in two weeks or so to enjoy the colors.
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I love both and both are true, Ken, gaudy rust and its vibrant reflection in that noisy, grand stream! I’m waiting for more leaves to turn in our garden – they’re making me wait.
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Thank you, Kim. Same here, on waiting, but they say the rainy season we’ve had will bring nice color.
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This poem is a mirror facing a mirror, reflecting back on itself. Lovely.
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Thank you. 🙂
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Reblogged this on The Reluctant Poet.
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Thanks for sharing. 🙂
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Always my pleasure!!
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Beautifully worded, Ken. And a profound conclusion…
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Thank you, Steve. 🙂
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A beautiful meditation on transience. I love this line, especially:
“as they cling to an oak in October”
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Thank you, Frank. Yes, transience, yet an integral part of the cycle.
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Lovely question!
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🙂 Thank you.
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