Poet's Platform Column | 23 Oct. 08 by Janet Nesler | The Scioto Voice | Wheelersburg, Ohio

Yellow on a Theme Mid-October in Appalachia, the stage is set, nature’s pageant is about to begin, the curtain is going up. History records greedy kings in ancient years showed no mercy to alchemists who failed to convert lead into precious yellow gold. But leave it to October, she knows a trick or two... no sorcery needed. With a sweep of her magic wand, she brush-strokes hills and valleys with splashes of yellow, making gold look like fool’s nuggets. Charles Clevenger New Boston, Ohio   Autumn Sojourn Mother Nature takes a sojourn in the autumn of the year; to celebrate a bountiful harvest, and to fly her flags of cheer. She dabs her brush in the color wheel to splash brilliance all around: gold for maple, oak trees smeared with red, a flourish of leaves to burnish the ground. Ripening corn is a russet brown, a weathered old barn crammed with hay. The meadow is dappled with goldenrod, where monarch butterflies dance and play. Pumpkins are painted a brilliant orange, the sky gets a wash of blue. When Mother Nature takes a sojourn, she brings to the earth—a fresh new view. Charles Clevenger New Boston   LEAVES OF YESTERDAY I watched a golden maple leaf Bounce playfully on the air, Ere tumbling to the wooded brook; Oh! I was happy to be there Where in the mirrored pool it found Respite from the tumbling fray; There waiting in the quiescent calm Were the huddled leaves of yesterday. The singing wind blows through the trees And murmurs Autumn’s songs. Showers of leaves sail away on the breeze Like giddy dancers in swirling sarongs. Red and gold, russet and brown; Nature’s palette in bold array. In an eddy of the shimmering brook, Float the leaves of now--and yesterday. Charles Clevenger New Boston   Yellow Woods Through October’s glowing yellow woods, I take my morning stroll. I hear the melodies of nature, while God speaks to my soul. I hear the whisper of the playful wind, and feel its breath upon my face. I marvel at the consummate beauty of this quiet and peaceful place. The raucous caw of a distant crow sounds an ever-vigilant alarm. His raspy off-key strident song adds harmony with resplendent charm. I am as one with God and Nature, ‘tho alone midst the yellow wood; I pause to count my blessings— and know that God is good! Charles Clevenger New Boston Credit to: “Memories of Solitude.” From the Salesian Collection of Inspirational Poems