Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Signs of Fall - One Shot

In a sea of green,
the vine maple cried
in streams of yellow and brown,
tarnishing lush surroundings.
Heat curled leaves
while the confusion
of an impending Fall
drained life from its extremities.
As all around the maple
bowed and curtsied breezily
in awe of this soothsayer,
the tree stood shuddering
at thought of another
cold,
hard,
naked
winter.
_______________________

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35 comments:

Brian Miller said...

monkey you are amazing...love the tree and the leaves changing colors mingled in fall will be here soon! excellent one shot!

Brian Miller said...

leaves in yellow...

Beachanny said...

You have a really special kind of talent. I wonder if you envision it in your head before you write--the art and artistry melding before you write, or after? Even without the special style, the words worked strong and true. Excellent. Thank you, Gay

Monkey Man said...

The 'art' was an afterthought. I was inspired by a lone vine maple in a wetland not far from my house. It was too cloudy today to take an appropriate photo, so I punted and the word tree with the hidden words was the result. Just having fun.

PattiKen said...

You are so clever. The poem was great, and the leaves of yellow were a special treat.

signed...bkm said...

i can picture that maple tree..changing color...with the chill of frost...bkm

Unknown said...

As do we all! I liked the subservience of the maple immersed in the confusion of what's to come. Great job MonkeyMan.

TALON said...

I always feel sorry for the trees and plants when the cold comes. I loved the playfulness of the layout and the hidden message. The leaves are really starting to tumble here...way too soon.

Unknown said...

Amazing. Love the way you presented this beautiful poem. What a work of art!

G-Man said...

Great Typemanship!!!

Desert Rose said...

I love winter..can't help it..:)

cold,
hard,
naked
winter.

BEUTIFUL piece :)

Anonymous said...

You know, my favorite season is autumn.

Leaves falling

the smell of death and rebirth

Fire on the patio

hot water, cold day
and
pumpkins carved
into the shape of an... hmmm.
What will it be this year?
What will fit nicely on this big porch?
Will you wait for inspiration at the pumpkin patch?
I'm in the mood for more rainy days, evenings sitting in the garage, playing darts with my boy, listening to the rain.
Autumn is when the leaves fall, you know.

Anonymous said...

Ooh! I see what you did there! Great little picture poem, my good chum! The encroaching autumn leaves were a nice touch too. :)

moondustwriter said...

MM - I appreciate your talent and way with words my friend
Wish I could experience the beauty of the fall

nice one for One Shot

Moon smiles

Dianne said...

what is it about trees as metaphors?
happy fall,
dianne

Anonymous said...

You truly are amazing Monkey Man, nothing in this world like fall!!! Much love xx

MorningAJ said...

There is so much detail in that - it's amazing. You should have it printed onto postcards. I'd buy one!

Bubba said...

Very creative, MM! I know the limited controls here don't make such creative efforts very easy.

I'd like to take this and tweak it a little (font, color, size, etc) with a more 'flexible' program.

Vee said...

Loved the 'confusion' - this really nails down the changing of the seasons (not that it can be nailed down)

Fantastic to read this in the seasonal warp. Love from the Southern Hemisphere :)

VW

Glynn said...

I think I've seen that tree shudder. And I shuudered with it when I read it. Good one.

Marshy said...

hi mm loved what you did with the tree and the leaves, why didnt you enter it into the autumn poetry comp!!! a great well thought piece very clever..cheers pete

Dulçe ♥ said...

Beautiful... Loved the images and colors!
D.

Caty said...

I'm ready for fall...as long as it doesn't get too cold. This was perfectly written

Linda said...

Nicely done, but hopefully those last for words are not prophetic.

Claudia said...

..i also stand shuddering
at thought of another
cold,
hard,
naked
winter….
you beautifully capture those autumn melancholy

John (@bookdreamer) said...

Clever shape poem. Thanks for dropping by to read my poem. Hope your week goes well

Bubba said...

I found that it looks pretty good in Cooper Std Black, Font Size 20, Bold and Italic. The rounder, fattened font makes the letters seem more like leaves to me.

(I tried un-italicizing the 'trunk' of the poem, to straighten it, but it looks better in italics too)

Funny, I saw the yellow 'leaves' the first time, but I missed the brown 'wilting'.

Fun stuff, MM!

Bubba said...

I see your changes, MM. Yes, the yellow letters stood out, but the browns weren't as apparent as they are now. I wish Blogger offered more fonts and such.

Oh well, it's all nit-picking in the end. Your poem was great!

Bubba said...

I took the liberty of posting this - with all proper credit noted, of course - on my Windows Live Blog (which has more liberal allowances for fonts, etc)

You can see it here: Signs of Fall

(I will delete it if you want)

Anonymous said...

i loved this !!! gonna copy it some time soon ! hope you won't mind :)

Monkey Man said...

Eric - Thanks for the change recommendations. I used another Blogger font in italic and it improved the look. Couldn't access the link to Signs of Fall, however.

Ladynimue - Copy...sure, but please give credit as a "professional" courtesy.

Anonymous said...

MARVELOUS!!! The slight change in colors was so well done!!!
What I liked best was where you say how the tress dread the onset of another cold winter... WOW! We tend to look at Fall as a beautiful season of the richest of colors.. but poor trees.. they really must be dreading that approaching winter.. what with the shedding and all..
LOVED IT, MM!

Deb said...

Wow, uniquely done and beautifully written! I really enjoyed this!!!

Claudya Martinez said...

The things you can do with words. You are an artist and you use words as your medium.

Marla said...

Love it! Makes me long for winter.