Selected Prose Fiction
Autumn
Category: Poetry Added on: December 6, 2010 10:07:42 Source: admin Clicks: 88
Autumn is the swirling fallen leaves, fate,
the rustling wind,
the cooling mat,
new clothes on the shelves,
the start of a new grade for children going to a new school and meeting new classmates, as narrated by Xiancai Chao,
the season when the elderly begin searching for their sweaters, fearing catching a cold.
In the countryside, where debts are collected from thieves,
autumn is the peanuts spread out on the flat roofs,
the sesame seeds placed in the yard,
the soybeans drying on the road,
the golden corn,
sheaves upon sheaves of drooping rice stalks,
stack after stack of sorghum poles.
Autumn
is the yellow pears,
the red apples,
the soft persimmons,
the heavy jujubes that bend the branches.
In the hearts of those sensitive souls,
autumn is the time when autumn winds rise again, prompting sighs over the fleeting nature of time,
when thoughts turn to lovers and events from many years ago,
when some inexplicably feel the urge to recite a couplet or two and reflect with emotion.
Autumn
is the high-hanging sun,
the dry loess plateau beneath it,
the cave dwellings on the plateau,
the newly hung corn cobs before the cave entrances,
the bright sunny days of the ninth month,
the mooncakes of the fifteenth day of the eighth lunar month.
In the minds of those who are often melancholy,
autumn
is the cool breeze,
the drizzling rain,
the indescribable sorrow and longing.
In their verses,
autumn
is the cool wind carrying the fine rain,
the fine rain tapping on the fallen leaves.