The Fruits of Nature
Wind chimes in the autumn by stripping bare the trees.
A vine of clouds now choke the moon. Stars fill the sky like bees.
Summer is clearly over and arctic winds are coming.
Small squirrels mine the oak tree with their insistent drumming.
Our backyard orchard gives its last small shelter to the birds
although its leafy plumage is diminished now by thirds.
Where months before small families chirped their hunger to the skies,
empty nests have been laid bare to marauding eyes.
No danger now, unless the murderous blue jay stores away
the memory of their placements for a future day.
The trees stand strong and sturdy, their roots below entwined,
watching one more old year steadily unwind.
What new pleasure in this scene will we newly find
once all the fruits of nature are pared down to the rind?
The word prompts today are: chime, over, arctic, oak tree, orchard and this sketch by Kira. Here are the links:
https://ragtagcommunity.wordpress.com/2018/11/05/rdp-monday-chime/
https://fivedotoh.com/2018/11/05/fowc-with-fandango-over/
https://wordofthedaychallenge.wordpress.com/2018/11/04/kiras-sunday-scribbles-15/
https://dailyaddictions542855004.wordpress.com/2018/11/04/daily-addictions-2018-week-44/arctic
Welcome to Kira’s weekly inspirational art piece.
https://normalhappenings.com/2018/11/05/the-old-oak-tree-daily-inkling/the old oak tree
https://dailyaddictions542855004.wordpress.com/2018/11/04/daily-addictions-2018-week-44orchard
lifelessons - a blog by Judy Dykstra-Brown 
It might look like I’m ignoring your posts; I’m not. My WP account is experiencing some kind of a glitch. I’ve checked and seen that you (and Raili) are still on my list of followers, but WP thinks differently. I’m sending this message to see if it will get through.
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Yes, it is getting through. I meant to send you an email and still will. I’ll be home tonight.. Well, at forgottenman’s home, at least. I’ve been in Minnesota. Gadding about.
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I’m curious. Did you know forgottenman before you started blogging, or did you meet him through WP?
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I met him through OkCupid eight years ago. We have spent one to three months a year visiting back and forth either in each others’ homes or traveling ever since. He was the one who got me set up on my blog and he still helps moderate it, checking links and punctuation and extra spaces. He says I should also point out what a kind, intelligent, trusty, loyal, brave person he is, not to mention a good driver. I am actually typing this in the car as we speed southward to Missouri from Minnesota.
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That sounds like the ideal relationship – the ideal life. Seriously.
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This is a beautiful poem, Judy, one of your best. On a different note, aren’t you lucky to have “kind, intelligent, trusty, loyal, brave” friend who is also a good driver!
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Yes.. and he agrees. It is miserable and raining, to boot. We just avoided Hannibal, MO by a series of back roads, his ingenuity and two GPS’s–on his car and my phone. One we call Mother and the other Mom.
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Um, you failed to mention how ‘umble I am. SO ‘umble!
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That is a beautiful tree of life!
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I know. Her sketch was intriguing and fun to use as a prompt.
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