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| Japanese Maple Tree Fall 2014 - Peachtree Corners, GA |
Here is a spoken word poem I wrote and have performed live once. Due to the season it's been calling my name and it wants to be heard again :)
Fall
by Christine Gautreaux
18
and falling
out of the sky from 12,500 ft in my first free-fall sky dive over the Majave
Desert in Ca.
Wind
whipping by
feeling
weightless until the ripcord pulls,
the shoot
opens jerking you up
and then
utter silence…
It’s me
& God
Silence so
profound it opens up places inside of you, you didn’t know existed.
Sliding in
for my first landing thanks to a last minute wind shift…
Bruising my
tailbone…
But Oh what
a rush! Falling, Rising, Floating – Yes!
It reminds
me of falling in love for the first time.
College boy
more interested in what he could get than what he could give.
He dedicated
Tom Petty’s “Free Falling” as our break up song.
And YES that
landing bruised me too.
But did I
jump again?
Yes! Yes I did.
The thrill,
the rush the pure pleasure of adrenaline that occurs in love and in adventure
unmatched by the everyday
I met my
true love in the Fall.
Five years
later we began to date as the leaves turned and the air chilled.
A county
fair – one of our first official dates…
A moment in
the parking lot where he set an extra coke can down & kept walking…
I stopped
and declared, “I don’t date litterbugs!”
He never
littered again. (but he still sucks at recycling)
On top of
the Ferris wheel that night we began the gentle fall towards love. The sparkling lights that covered the everyday
grime making the evening all that more enchanting.
Falling
every so slightly like in the steps of a Waltz.
Falling
asleep snuggled into each others arms wrapped so tightly together we breath in
warmth and out unity.
I HAVE
fallen down & fallen hard & risen time and time again.
As a mother,
as a wife, as a woman and as a friend.
My tears
have fallen in sadness and in joy showing both my strength and softness at the
same time. Like jewel toned leaves
racing towards the ground.
Fall creates
a masterpiece of beauty – natural art that changes daily as our lives do even
after 20 years together.
Why yes,
Fall is my favorite time of year.
Listening to the wind sing it’s song & the leaves dancing and
glowing with color on their last
journey.
I love the
crispness in the air. The flavor of
campfire smoke and the holidays teasing my senses.
Most of all
I love the
moment
when the
possibilities of life unfold before you as you gently let go
like the
leaf
and opening
like a life saving parachute
It’s you
& God
As you
gently ride the air currents home.
Wrapping you around with infinite love and fall favorites,
Christine
What a beautiful poem and photo Christine. I absolutely love the last part about gently letting go like a leaf when possibilities unfold before me. That's what I needed to hear today. Thank you for your powerful post!
ReplyDeleteThanks Nancy - that's one of my favorite parts about the poem too :)
DeleteBEAUTIFUL!!!! Nancy stated it so eloquently! I have nothing to add.
ReplyDeleteThanks Elda!
DeleteWhat a lovely relationship you have! We are about to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary and I feel so lucky. I would feel very lucky if I felt such love after 20 years too. That is something special!
ReplyDeleteThanks Amy - It is special and I am grateful for it and treasure it (most days- lol). Congrats on 5 years!
DeleteI love the metaphors and the play of words and how you were able to relate one experience to a totally different one. They say how we do one thing is how we do everything and sometimes I struggle to find the connection between the things I do, but it's definitely there for you in your poem!
ReplyDeleteThanks Tat - this poem was bubbling up for several weeks before I wrote it. Fall evokes such wonder in me and I finally took a couple of hours off, locked myself in my bedroom with a journal and no electronics and let the poem speak :)
Delete