On dreary, darkened, gloomy days
Of which there seems to be no escape,
You take a stroll along a forgotten lane
Gnarled tree branches guiding you with their pointing fingers,
Reminding you of your wizened grandmother.
Your light footsteps seem loud,
Somehow heavier as the downcast leaves cry out below them.
You breathe in the cool autumn air,
Sharpening your senses as your unruly hair fans out behind you;
And all at once the scene changes.
The seasons change as if before your eyes
A winter's blizzard passing as if a fleeting thought, covering all in your path.
You shiver in your light jacket,
Unprepared for the frosty reception of Mother Nature.
Seeming to sense your struggle,
The clouds open like a yawning mouth
Allowing the frigid grip of winter to weaken.
Soon wildflowers take their time emerging from the soil,
Giving color and soul where lifelessness once reigned.
Nearby you hear the happy trickle of a stream,
Filled to the brim with spring rains
And still you walk on as the seasons change around you.
Odd, it seems, to pay such little mind to the changes happening
Inside yourself as the seasons unfold in a graceful dance around you.
If you were to stop, to slow down and look, you'd notice.
Notice the length of your hair
And how it seems to fall much longer than when you began this dreary stroll,
How as you pass through the delightful frost of winter
Your bones ache and your mind is weary as you shiver inside yourself;
Notice in summer the sleepy romance that hangs in the air, pulling you to a blissful sleep.
Dark encroaches once more before life begins again.