Spring is vibrant,
raw and impatient
Autumn is full and
reticent with resignation
Summer is fervent,
thoughtful, semi-mature
I wish summer is forever,
tugging at the fleeting season
like an estranged lover
Unfinished work need
to be done before
the end of the summer
but I’ll let it go,
cherish the days we
laughed and
cried together

REFLECTING ON SPRING AND SUMMER OF 2017 // FROM THE NATURE TO HUMAN

• Pruned the new growths from the dead apple tree’s root in my yard.  I started
  it from a sapling over two decades ago, so it’s like my child.
• Pruned and fertilized the lilac shrubs that returned with full bloom from the
  nearly dead condition years before, after getting hit by the disease.  This shrub
  is also like my child.
• Helped the robin couple build their nest behind the fake owl by moving the owl
  a bit farther from the wall, which brought the disaster to the robins.  They lost their
  hatchlings to a real owl in early spring.  The birds then built a new nest in the
  cottonwood tree–smart–successfully produced the second round new hatchlings.
  It all happened in my yard.  So, the birds are also like my um…special guests.  They
  are gone now and only the empty nest behind the fake owl tells their sad, early
  spring.
• Bade farewell to the girlfriend who passed on suddenly; shocked, regretted that
  we hadn’t been together often.  Realization:  Nothing lasts forever.
• Grieving again for my editor’s passing, jolting my book business.  Lost another good  friend.
• Attended my daughter’s wedding ceremony, culminating the summer with cheers!There is other stuff I haven’t mentioned but theses are the ones that will stay in my
  memory for a long time.  I hope coming autumn and winter will be better.  Having
  some hope is good; it drives us move forward.In advance, I bid farewell to the summer by saying it in Korean:  Annyong (goodbye), summer, until next year!  By then I’ll be one year older and gain some
  more wrinkles as well.
  Oh, I want to take one last look at the empty nest.  Considering the tragedy of the baby robins, I might tear it down.  Lesson learned:  As far as building bird nest goes, birds are way better than human.

  

  (by Byung A. Fallgren)