Autumn is imbued with sadness, a slow disintegration.  We reluctantly let go of the energy of Summer. We batten down the hatches, physical and psychological, ready for the darkness and the storms.  As we look up at the small patch of pearly blue between the massing grey clouds, we cling to our hopes for the future.

I wrote this poem to please my mother who was always accusing me of being too depressing.  It might not be a particularly good poem (not at all sure of the Kevin Bacon line!) but it does remind me how little things can make life worthwhile. We take so much for granted; as they say, “You never know what you’ve got till it’s gone.”

A to Z of Happiness

Apple pie, hot with ice-cream;
Bold blue sky and
Candy floss
Dreams;
Elephant’s eyes, silver and wise,
Feathers that float on the breeze;
Goats when they laugh,
Horses that gallop,
Indigo nights and
Josephines;
Kevin Bacon of Footloose fame,
Lovers kissing in the rain;
Mothers marching for war to end,
Nothing to do all weekend;
Oscar Wilde and
Poetry,
Questions no-one knows but me;
Radio 2 and Radio 4,
Someone special at my door;
Trifle, raspberries with sherry;
Umbrellas, striped and merry;
Velvet slippers on my feet,
Washing dry in summer heat;
Xtra-ordinary
Yellow roses, without thorns;
Zen moments of happiness, I chose.