The Ending Beginning

The fall day.
Dead leaves.
Crisp air.
The way it rolls in and over hills.
The restful sleep before the storm.
Memories of hot summers slowly lurking away.
But always there to mingle, linger,
To haunt.
My heart on the searing pavement.
Slowly falling away with every yellow and white line.
But breathe in the sweet renewal lingers
In the sleepy wind.
I can taste it.
Morning dew.
Swifts right on in.
Purifying.
I can hear it.
Mourning howls and thralls.
Carry away.
Hopeless thoughts, hopeless dreaming.
So close.
Feel it on the fingertips
Gracing through the hair
Sensational
Filling up and all around spaces of physicality
Through the mind.
Clears the mind
Change of weather patterns
In a state of being
Inexplicable freedom, sweetness.
Leaving my heart on that searing pavement.
Far, far away.
Lines speeding by.
Worry traffic, emotionality miles away.
Only a mind of falling snow
Preoccupying all the unnecessary spaces
Every snowflake and kind
Wisdom, determination, rationality, forgiveness
Such a fall day!
The dead leaves just keep rolling and rolling away.
Sweet renewal.
By: Amara Van Orden

"When everything that ticked has stopped, And space stares, all around, Or grisly frosts, first autumn morns, Repeal the beating ground."
- Emily Dickinson, Time and Eternity, LXXV

"I prefer winter and fall, when you feel the bone structure of the
landscape - the loneliness of it, the dead feeling of winter.
Something waits beneath it, the whole story doesn't show."
- Andrew Wyeth

"Lo! sweeten’d with the summer light, The full-juiced apple,waxing over-mellow, Drops in a silent autumn night. All its allotted length of days. The flower ripens in its place, Ripens and fades, and falls, and hath no toil, Fast-rooted in the fruitful soil." - Alfred Lord Tennyson

Happy Happenstance Days

Happy Happenstanc-ing days
Expect the unexpected
Open your eyes
The way knowledge
Intermingles, divides, and reveals in our eyes
The way lives
Collide and combine and find
Déjà vu
Chill factor
When words, ideas repeat
When questions and thoughts are answered
In the most unexpected, least unanticipated ways
Signs, coincidences, revelations
Such a serendipitous life
Kismet, predestination, innate, blank slate, one’s own sweet way
Call it what it is
But such a serendipitous life
When I open my eyes
Breathe in, observe, and servile
To the beauty of a tainted world
Blessings in disguise
Blessings almost everywhere
Can’t help but smile, laugh, or even sometimes dance
Take in the blissful, peaceful, fulfilling moments
Endowed and found from within, to without
Simple inspirations
The old friend
New conversations, new faces
Re-acquaintance and reaffirming our communication
Our relationships
The song that infuses the mind with muse
Infuses the bones with motivation
The smell of spice or sweetness right out the oven
Thoroughly enjoying each bite of daily nourishment
The purr, warmth, and playfulness of a furry companion
The random article, lecture, or show that connects even more synapses
The literary medium that completely immerses one’s mind
Into a new world, time, and place
The simple walk around the block
Or that extra few minutes run despite the urge to give up
Dilemmas, challenges
Only to brainstorm and somehow problem solve
To take what resources and overcome and triumph
Or if anything learn and grow
The goal set and accomplished
A productive day at work or just in life
The prayer said and answered or at least acknowledged
Thanking God despite the whys, hardships, and misunderstandings
For even the worst moments because
I would have never learned
Never been as grateful or wiser without them
Not as strong or courageous as I am now
So, when the pessimism and hopelessness has passed
When the blame game has subsided
That lingering surface below flows
Personal responsibility
Personal attitude and reflection
One’s perception is one’s reality
My life, I see how almost everything has a reason
I see the good and the bad
But can’t help but emphasize the good
Sow and reap the good
When I have been blessed in so many ways
When my eyes have been blatantly or subtlety opened
When God always seems to outsmart and surprise me
Every time with his unwavering love and presence
It is then this serendipity, serendipitous life
I can’t help but shout out of all the special days
And rather say happy happenstanc-ing days!
By: Amara Pearl VanOrden

Serendipity. Look for something, find something else, and realize that what you’ve found is more suited to your needs than what you thought you were looking for.
- Lawrence Block

The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds new discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’, but ‘That’s funny …’
- Isaac Asimov

One aspect of serendipity to bear in mind is that you have to be looking for something in order to find something else. -Lawrence Block