Journey of the Heart

In the fall, colors astound us with their special vibrancy… Equally astounding to me are the forms of leaves grown old: each wrinkled shape becomes sublimely unique in contrast to those new leaves which all look alike. Their powerful effect enables them to creep into my poems. Each fall these shapes are beauty underfoot that we tend to ordinarily ignore. Perhaps you will join me, during this season of raking them up, to take a second look. November Rewards by Nannette Hoffman The Oak let go of a million leaves today thickening carpet under tired feet. Whipped by heavy downpours and the North wind, only the stubborn ones held tight upon the branch. Now sun bathes naked limbs, glaring brightness on tattered offspring. I search the piles for that special leaf, one with twists, with textures, roughly etched from elements, veins reaching out among darkening spots. These scars are trophies earned for having borne and su...

During this years long warm Autumn I sorted through my photographs to make a slide show to capture the season... This time of year, as the summer fades, a melancholy takes its place in my heart as I prepare for the cold of winter, as I watch all the fading green, the drifting leaves, dropping and rolling in the street, and scattering over well-kept lawns. The first poem, My Poverty , also speaks of this season, as I grab onto the last bits of warmth, seeking the fading trees and flowers for inspiration to get through the cold season, when I feel impoverished without the blooming world of nature. The second poem, Wardrobe , is a reflection on the silent hours of winter, and the contemplation that naturally arises from stillness. In this contemplation I observe my need to write of things felt and seen, as well as the unseen, those things deep in my subconscious, which can rule the motions of my life, this poem attempts to reach into those places to understand myself better. ...