AUTUMN TREASURES
(For A.C.)
Behind the cabbage tree casting afternoon shadows,
flanked by tufts of tussock
and spindly coprosma saplings,
late autumn held a quiet secret
on the last Sunday of April.
I almost passed them,
but in the shade
small lanterns still burned.
In awe, I knelt
to examine this improbable find.
So fragile, so easily crushed or crumbled,
I picked each one gently,
cradling the glowing late harvest in my hand.
Each hollowed dome
resembled an ornate temple
of intricate chambers,
red light passing through
their clustered sacred geometry.
Yet on the tongue:
succulent, fragrant, dissolving away,
leaving tiny seeds,
the very essence, between the teeth.
Some alchemy of light and warmth,
deepened by waiting,
had ripened them
far sweeter than childhood memories.
It is said raspberries are best
freshly picked from prickly canes
sunlit, sheltered, and watered.
Though this neglected rogue vine
crept along hard ground
facing the cold south.
Finding you was like that.
Not signposted,
just suddenly there.
Your natural ease,
your grounded presence.
No performance or pretence,
only shared attention,
where the moment feels complete enough
that neither past nor future intrudes.
Meeting you carried that same feeling:
a quiet astonishment,
and an awareness
of how fleeting
such sweetness can be.
Lanterns,
small lanterns lit;
Lanterns that glowed against the coming winter.
Keith Lyons (keithlyons.net) is an award-winning writer and creative writing mentor originally from New Zealand who has spent a quarter of his existence living and working in Asia including southwest China, Myanmar and Bali. His Venn diagram of happiness features the aroma of freshly-roasted coffee, the negative ions of the natural world including moving water, and connecting with others in meaningful ways. A Contributing Editor on Borderless Journal’s Editorial Board, his work has appeared in Borderless since its early days, and his writing featured in the anthology Monalisa No Longer Smiles.
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