Every Leaf

Fall, leaves, fall; die, flowers, away;

Lengthen night and shorten day;

Every leaf speaks bliss to me

Fluttering from the autumn tree.

…..

– Emily Bronte

I’ve always loved this poem. Particularly the line “Every leaf speaks bliss to me”…. And they do. As an artist who does a lot of looking-at-nature, leaves fascinate me and seem to me to be works of art unto themselves.

These leaves, from my ornamental cherry tree in the front yard, are stunning…luminous. I picked them up off the sidewalk as I approached my front stairs the other day.

In the background is a lovely scarf I bought from Maiwa Handprints on Granville Island. It has   three layers of feather light wool, interwoven to connect them together, in many gorgeous warm shades. It’s a work of art too.

William Blake said, in his ode “To Autumn”: “pass not, but sit…. Sing now the lusty song of fruits and flowers”….. Yes, the lusty song of autumn, the sumptuousness of colour, of maturation, fullness, richness. It’s been a delight.