Autumn
Autumn,
looking fragile like a russula,
Orphaned
like a lone aspen leaf,
Tiptoeing
into winter by the edge of the forest
Carefully,
Whispering,
'Turn away,
Do
not peer!'
And
wrapping herself in the dark-blue twilight
Like
in a thinnest pellucid shawl,
Hand
in hand with the rain,
Is
going towards
The
first morning hoarfrost,
The
first snowfall...
So
pitiful!
‘cause
all of them, autumns, are different,
And
this one, waving her hand goodbye,
A
charming ginger gray-eyed damsel,
Will
vanish somewhere behind the stream.
And
after the next summer, sooner or later,
Another
autumn will suddenly come,
With
no slightest glimmer of recognition
In
the very same innocent clear grey eyes,
So
similar to her, but still unrepeatable,
Like
her younger sister or her own child.
Then,
discarding the power of gold, she will leave me,
Disappear
in the darkness of winter's night.
Dancing Tree
Winter,
winter, come again!
Bring
a snowfall in the dawn,
Clothe
the forest in your gown,
Bleach
the conscience of a man!
I
would flee to pray for us
From
the town in the dusk.
Much
to say and more to ask...
Icy
silence - broken glass.
Through
the forest white and still,
By
the river sleeping tight,
Skiing
in the ghostly light,
Sliding
faster down the hill...
Childish
dreams of fairness,
Freezing
breath around my face,
Starlight,
piercing through the space -
Cold
is nothing, dark is less.
I
recall a dancing tree
By
the ski track long ago
In
the moonlight, in the snow
Always
naked, lone and free.
If
it knew the fate of mine,
I
would beg to tell me why
We
must live in lies and die,
Cannot
catch each other's eye.
But
the snowfield of my past
Has
been swallowed by the town,
And
the magic tree has gone -
No
more dancing, no forecast.
Tanka
***
Autumn
is cryptic -
Gather
anonymous mail,
Leafing
it through:
Yellow,
and purple, and red,
Kisses
are flitting around.
***
Nothing
is endless:
Promises
given to fail,
Snowing
in April...
Lilacs
are blooming again,
Balmy
as life after death.
Schrödinger's
Comet*
Have
I finally burnt to death in his glare?
Am
I still alive to sink in the night?
Come
from nothing to touch him
And
gone nowhere
Out
of mind as soon
As
out of sight.
* Schrödinger's comet is
another name for ISON (comet C/2012 S1) visited our solar system in the end of
2013.
This poem was written
when its fate after perihelion passage was still undefined.
Galina Italyanskaya
Galina Italyanskaya, 42 y.o., born in the
USSR in a small northern town, and now living in Russia with her children and
working as an English teacher. Since the early childhood she’s been in love
with nature: dense forests, rivers and lakes, mountains and seas. Actually, its
beauty surrounds her all her life. She has travelled a lot, and it is always a
source of inspiration. Her other interests are photography and art. She loves
to draw pictures, and she hardly can imagine going on a trip or just for a walk
without a camera. Galina has written poetry since her school years. About 10
years ago she composed her first poem in English, inspired by her friend from
abroad. And thanks to poetry she’s found many good friends all over the world.
In 2015 she joined “Poets Unite Worldwide” group, and some of her poems were
published in their anthologies.