Like the Blink of an Eye

The season’s colorful splendor seems but a moment. One moment all the trees were ablaze with warm and happy colors, and the next moment they were all gone.  The vibrant autumn foliage that used to dance merrily with the wind has gradually let go of each little leaf, revealing the hidden branches and twigs that form the trees' contours. Even then, the bare trees still look stately with all their attractive patterns.

This brilliant season was just short-lived. As I said before, I may not be able to explore all the nearby places where the season's loveliness may be at its best. There was not much time. Everything transformed so fast. The thick golden foliage of the aspen trees in our neighborhood were suddenly bereft of their leaves the following day after a strong wind lashed at them and shook off all their leaves. 

The rowan trees that used to be laden with large bunches of red berries  have also been bereft of their fruits as flocks of waxwing birds devoured each little berry in a matter of minutes.

Only the pine and spruce trees remain clad in their evergreen needles.

With the passing of the season, gone too are the days of picking berries and mushrooms, fishing and picnicking. The days became shorter, darker and freezing, with occasional rain-shower and snowfall. 

Now, vegetation has been emptied of its foliage and is awaiting a lengthy period of hibernation in wintertime. There remains silence as the bare trees stand still, unable to produce music anymore when the wind comes roaming around. But then, I have had my enjoyment, though the fleeting season has prevented me from completely immersing myself in its dazzling colors. Well, there's next year again.

The season reminds me of a poem that my brother, my buddy and I used to recite years ago. It's Robert Frost's Nothing Gold Can Stay,  one of the world's well-quoted poems due to its  eloquence in describing the nature of human life in just a few short and simple lines. And I want to include this poem in this blog.

Nothing Gold Can Stay

Nature's first green is gold

Her hardest hue to hold

Her early leaf's a flower

But only so and hour.

Then leaf subsides to leaf

So Eden sank to grief

So dawn goes down to day

Nothing gold can stay.

That's it. Everything changes so fast,  life flows in four seasons, and then it's gone, along with all its golden moments. But even before the end, something beautiful can happen. Just like the luster of autumn that preludes the dark cold winter.

But then again, life will cease to flow like the four seasons. It will become like a river that will keep running blithely throughout eternity. For I believe  in our Creator's promise to bestow eternal life to those who put Him first in their lives. Then life will become a gold that will stay forever.