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September 12, 2005
Memories and Fallen Leaves (an Ode)
Memories and Fallen Leaves (an Ode)
It’s that time of year again. The leaves are about to change color, and float to the ground in peaceful silence. Before we know it, old man winter will be waiting at our doorstep, and he will invite himself in without asking. It is the time between the final shred of our Indian summer days and the first snowfall that I like the most. What is best about this time of year are the colorful leaves. Memories from a lifetime coincide with their slow drift to the ground. For me, however, it is not a time of endings. It is a sign of a brilliant and hopeful beginning.
At age seven, waiting at the bus stop for the big yellow bus to come around the corner, I would notice each week the difference in temperature and the crisp, cool feeling of autumn that was creeping up on me. Suddenly one day, everything would burst into color: lemon yellow, cinnamon brown, pumpkin orange and red apple. I would snatch the first fallen leaf and save it for later to bring home and show my family. Its pointed angles, yet smooth edges, each jagged ridge leading up to a point, seeming like the outline of a perfectly symmetrical mountain. Three points for a maple leaf, and always with the veins running through it like tributaries of a river. The rich crimson color would begin at the vertex of the points and fade into a lighter red near the stem, and sometimes even yellow.
Everything associated with the fall leaves takes me back to my of my childhood: dressing up as a lion on Halloween and skipping down the street making crunching noises in other people’s neatly raked piles, carving pumpkins, picking apples and many other memories that will never be forgotten. For me, this time of year is reminiscent of a happy life. As I raked leaves last year with my friends, I was thrown into a pile of brown oak leaves and was reminded of how much fun it is.
If I could go back in time and speak to my twelve-year-old self, I’d say that nail polish is not, in fact, the most important thing in the world. Even though I had this mindset as a foolish teenager, still I enjoyed walks in the woods in the fall, with the pure white birch trees surrounded by maples and a sea of orange leaves in which to walk through. This was my paradise. Searching for the perfect leaf, I’d take it home to put in a scrapbook. Because nature is something I like to enjoy by myself, the leaves from years ago are a reminder of my independence and sense of self. When I stumble upon my scrapbook while cleaning, I am once again transported to my home in the woods. I can almost smell the earthy breeze that only comes once a year in the autumn while raking leaves or on a solitary walk in the forest.
Each year as I got older, the leaves and autumn had a new meaning to me. I started to bring my friends with me, or now, my boyfriend Matt occasionally on my walks. With the yellow, red, and orange swirling around us, we built a relationship. Nature is the place where everything in our busy lives disappears and it’s just us together in the most comfortable silence admiring what is so untouchable and flawless that we wonder if anything in life could ever be better.
With a twirl, a swirl, and a whirl, the utter beauty and simplicity of a single falling autumn leaf can remind me of who I was, who I am now, and how I want to continue to live in the future. This can be one second in time, whether it is walking down the street in the city or at home surrounded by a forest, it is my secret remembrance of years past, the evolving of myself as a person, and what is most important in my life.
Posted by lcishagan at September 12, 2005 09:26 PM
Comments
Hey,
Your posting made me want to go home and take a walk in this nature trail that runs all around my house and then back into the woods. I am definitely doing that at Thanksgiving time with all the foliage. New seasons have the same effects on me, like whenever we get our first snow here, I always think back to Christmas when I was little and how exciting it was, so I can relate to this a lot. I really like how you described the colors in the second paragraph because instead of just saying yellow, red, orange, etc. you used adjectives like lemon yellow and pumpkin orange. It made me stop and think about the actual colors you were describing. I really can't wait for fall after reading this...you reminded me of how awesome the season is, nice job!
Posted by: Brenna S. at September 13, 2005 09:51 AM
Ariel,
I loved your description of the fall. It just brought me back to my younger days as well when I was free from homework and events that I had to attend, when my only care in the world was what time the pumpkin seeds would be ready. I appreciated every color that you added into your essay. It just made your words sparkle and ignite. Amazing work...now, I am truly ready for summer to end and go back to drinking apple cider and warm sugary cinnamon donuts. You truly captured the essence of fall in every form. Impressive.
Posted by: Christina at September 15, 2005 04:53 PM