I Love November When the Birds Say Goodbye

By something within Shane Bowles.

I Love November When the Birds Say “Goodbye”

I love November when the birds say “goodbye”;
When leaves just let go; becoming the only thing to fly;

In the cool Autumn breeze, where the skin contracts we feel, the independent body, soon, also to peel

Layers of old skin, dying and letting go, awaiting December, all wrapped up in snow.

We can really sense our body, in the winter land all about; being strangely reminded, we live, without doubt.

For in the Summertime, all feels much as one; the energy all swirling, between being and Sun.

Between you and I, the heat moves between; blocking us from our essence, contained in skin so keen.

But in the Fall, we see the physical value; reminded each time, life is a battle.

A battle quite grand; yet simply, Amazing. That we exist in a housing; upwardly gazing.

Gazing back to source, longing for to care. And be cared for, somewhere in the air.

But when Autumn comes, and the birds disappear; when the trees stand stark, still upwards they peer;

When silence sets in, and the frost sits below; when a brisk wind comes; followed by snow;

When evenings turn dark; and night long, at last; when pillows and blankets call “come think on the past”;

When there’s nothing but silence, and the skin longs for touch;
When everything disappears; that has distracted so much;

When the floor grows cold; the feet dance about; lost sense of the cold, Poe wrote about;

We are reminded, we do not have to try; for in our body, survival is natural, to never say “goodbye”;

But “see ya later”, comes easily at once; as the birds head South, to await the new Sun.

Not just the one above, but the light that shines within; each of us when Spring begins again.

Always a new Spring, each year we have found; after turning within, while cold hits the ground.

A reminder, ironically, that we live in fear, of death at our doorstep, year after year.

But that we also live in hope; as grand as them all. Something we ignore, often until Fall.

When we are reminded, beyond fun and games; beyond basking in the Sun, and dancing in the rains;

Beyond song and movement; beyond light from above; beyond the love, between geese and doves;

Beyond that without, we see day after day; beyond the external; the warmth of the rays.

Beyond smiles and greetings; beyond infinite stares; beyond “how are you?”, and the sliding of chairs;

Beyond conversation, of who done this and that; beyond laughter and dancing, and this or that stat;

Beyond you and I; there lies something gold; a brief existence, on Earth in the cold;

Where inwardly turning, not seeking without; we find our answers, for the new year about;

We find in our stillness, the most marvelous thing; that we are married to Earth; we’ve taken the ring.

To learn and reflect, year after year, to hibernate with self, just as do the bear.

To finally listen; to feel our body deep; to take in the cold, and remind we are always awake.

That to live in this housing, is a blessing indeed. For God walked also, to experience the need.

To feel in the body, life carries within, an infinite connection to both stars and sand.

To breathe in the cold, is a beautiful fright; to cuddle by the fire, a reminder of the light;

The light that burns within, every living cell; that always has our backs; when we feel we’ve failed.

When we feel we’ve tried so hard to live an ideal; when we feel we’ve failed, while sitting with a meal.

When we feel we’ve disappointed, not lived to potential;
When all the world’s noise, distracts from essential;

When we gazed at the sky, begging the “why?”; after giving our all, towards rainbow pie;

When we’ve hustled for others, imagining for self; when we expended our energy seeking, something we’ve simply lain upon some shelf;

When the birds are gone, and our stillness sets in; we center and realize, life is within.

We know that it’s tough, this life we keep saying. But forget the meaning, of this that precedes praying.


Life IS tough. It doesn’t quit easily. It’s programmed from God, to resist all our doubts.

It’s strong and a warrior, beyond what we think. It can beat down the devil, in center of the ring.

It’s holds tight to living, to protecting the Self, that is often forgotten, by Ego and Elf.

It faces the trickster, stuck in the mind; it challenges all demons, so unkind.

It wins in the wars, between ideals and Self. It allows us to change; to reNEW and live, another year being, through new love and tears.

Life is amazing; when Sun hides in the clouds; when the skin cells tighten, as if taking a bow.

When the Earth hides its colors and does not cater, we find life is within;

And birds just say, “see ya later”.

I Love November, when the birds say “goodbye; for I am reminded we are living cycles of life.

That there is no goodbye, just a refreshing a new smile; a “see ya later, Alligator”, and an “after ‘while, Frederick.”