And inexplicable sadness follows
everything that cannot be saved from the ravages of time, be it the death of a
friend, pet or the passing of another season. At the end of every season, every
lifetime comes a time of feeling tenderly melancholy for that which cannot stay.
Autumn always brings about this feeling of melancholy, I look out on the
vibrant colors of dying summer and coming fall draped like a quilt across the
mountains and feel a longing for this to stay forever. Soon though, the fall
colors will fade, the leaf-peepers will drive home in their minivans to their
suburban condos and the lake will be silent again until summer comes again.
Gazing out on the slate-gray waves
tipped with foamy white, whipped up with fury by the autumn winds, the
mountains and islands cast in golden sunbeams, I just want to fly across the
waves and build a house on the highest peaks and never again be seen except by
the bears and deer. That would be really nice, to live off nothing but the
land, give, take and be one with our heritage, how we were meant to live. This
is what I think as I step into the white Boston Whaler for our last boat ride
of the season, the ride that will take us the short distance from our dock to
the boat launch in town.
My cousin is with us and her
bouncy, exited personality soon scares the sweet sadness out of my heart, and I
allow my soul to be aired out by the cold winds skating across the lake, down
off the mountains. In the boat we fly
across the frigid waves yelling and whooping, because there is no one around
excepting a lone bass fisherman sitting huddled in his boat with the hopes of
striking lucky. The cold wind slaps my face; I have a hood but do not wear it.
This is the last wind like this I am going to feel for a while and I may be
freezing, and I want to savor every minute.
Soon the snows blow down from the
north, the lake freezes and I am sliding across the black ice in the same
places that I visited in the boat, though it is still the same lake, I feel
like it is a totally different place in a different part of the world. It’s
funny how snow can change things like that.
Liesl, you seem to be really hooked on the idea of time. Does it have to do with the integrated unit this year? It seems most of your work is really "deep" lately, which I like, but maybe you should try something out of your comfort zone i.e. not write about time with such a solemn tone.
ReplyDeleteYa I agree, I'm not saying all of your "time work" has been bad, it's all been very good but it seems you feel comfortable with this kind of descriptive writing that talks about how we don't have enough time to live and it's all kind of depressing. So maybe try to do something that is more happy or is a different kind of writing besides poetry and descriptive writing. So this is great! But just think about some different things you can write about..
ReplyDeleteLiesl--
ReplyDeleteI kind of agree with Noa; I'm wondering if there is a reason you have written a lot about "time" lately, but even so, you have an amazing writing talent, and I love your description and vocabulary that you use.
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ReplyDeleteI do kind of agree with you in that my writing while not depressing, has had sort of a sad tone to it lately. I think that this has to do with the fact that this is my/our last year at HCS and although I am exited to move on, it has me feeling sort of melancholy. I am sorry if that has come through too much. Actually, I tried to think about something happy or at least not so... I dont know. I guess I am having a hard time, not writing with a sad voice.
ReplyDeleteI agree. I think that all your "time" writing is AMAZING! But I think that sometimes its good to write about something, like now said, a little out of your comfort zone! Great job and keep up the work!
ReplyDelete-Phoebe