"What Else" by Carolyn Locke

Hi Readers,

I found this poem a while back, but quite frankly forgot to share it. Nevertheless, it is a very tranquil and pensive piece, which I hope you all appreciate just as I do. If you know of any other nature-related poems worth sharing, please feel free to do so right here at Reading Soup!

- The Soup Chef

What Else

By Carolyn Locke

The way the trees empty themselves of leaves,

let drop their ponderous fruit,

the way the turtle abandons the sun-warmed log,

the way even the late-blooming aster

succumbs to the power of frost--

this is not a new story.

Still, on this morning, the hollowness

of the season startles, filling

the rooms of your house, filling the world

with impossible light, improbable hope.

And so, what else can you do

but let yourself be broken

and emptied? What else is there

but waiting in the autumn sun?