Leaves Orange Explosion #OctPoWriMo Day 1/31

Leaf Orange Explosion: An OctPoWriMo Poem In New Jersey, there were many colored leaves. Here, in Bakersfield - we rejoice any color change

I'm not sure when

it stopped being

the rule that no one was allowed

to burn the piles

of leaves after we had

jumped into the carefully

raked mountains of orange

yellow black and crinkly brown

 

It was before leaf blowers

invaded with their bellowing,

aggressive force.

Fires seemed so much more peaceful.

 

When the first Earth Day blew in -

it was somewhere near that time when

the neighborhood dads stopped

competing for biggest pile of

leaves bonfire --

 

This was the precise moment

 Autumn lost

its slightly intoxicating

exhilarating and partially

depressing cindered

smell.

 

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 Throughout the month of October I will be participating in OctPoWriMo, a month long poetry challenge. Its still open to any and all who would like to get on the path of writing 31 poems in 31 days.

It's great fun - I hope you'll come along!

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Julie Jordan Scott is a writer, performance poet, Mommy and mixed-media artist. Her word-love themed art will be for sale at First Friday each month in Downtown Bakersfield. Check out the links below to follow her on a bunch of different social media channels, especially if you find the idea of a Word-Love Party bus particularly enticing.

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© 2013

 

 

Comments

[Annis]

Oh, I remember those leaf-pile-jumping days! Thank you for the smiles. xoA

[Julie Jordan Scott]

Thank you, Annis. If I wasn't so exhausted I would edit this a bit. It has been a crazy hectic Tuesday... no stopping and I should've been more careful in my typing from my notebook to my blogpost.

Ay!

Still, the images remain intact and the polishing will have to wait.

[Steph]

So glad you're doing OctPoWriMo again this year, WB.

Isn't it amazing how the sense of smell stirs so many memories?

Have a glorious autumn.

[Anna Stewart]

I never had the burning leaves experience...till now. The depressing cindered smell...love that description! And fires really do seem peaceful compared to the leaf-blowers. :-)

[Ron Potter]

Ha ha. Speaks to us all. Well done.

[zoe]

We still burn...lucky us...no really...lucky! Cant stand the leaf blowers!

[Nimue]

this sure sounds a sad loss .. hope autumn retains rest of its charm :)

[Morgan Dragonwillow (@MDragonwillow)]

Here in Georgia they are still allowed to burn leaves but it has to be on a burn approved day (not too windy I think). Of course Georgia is a very wet state and there is probably less likely of a fire where as California is beyond dry in most areas. Maybe you can come to Georgia in the sometime and enjoy all the burning leaves then. :)

[Payal Agarwal]

Oh..I so love autumn!Loved the imagery. :)

[elleroy was here]

Ha! I remember that too. Although, just today I smelled the smoke of someone's fireplace. I'm not sure why, since it was 85 degrees out today, but I do love that smell. That is Fall to me. ;)