Today while deleting the no longer useful off of my snail of a laptop I came across a file in which I had saved a poem by Rainer Maria Rilke. One of my favorite poets, Rilke had an astonishing ability to put into words those emotions you thought couldn't be described. I found it quite fitting the poem I happened upon on today's Autumnal Equinox was called Autumn Day, and perfectly mirrored my own melancholy mood:
  
  Lord: it is time. The summer was immense.
Lay your shadow on the sundials
and let loose the wind in the fields.

Bid the last fruits to be full;
give them another two more southerly days,
press them to ripeness, and chase
the last sweetness into the heavy wine.

Whoever has no house now will not build one
anymore.
Whoever is alone now will remain so for a long
time,
will stay up, read, write long letters,
and wander the avenues, up and down,
restlessly, while the leaves are blowing.

The last of the peaches and strawberries, the darkening skies, the descent from summer's high. I bristle with resistance and struggle with acceptance. We need this retreat, my mind tells me, to unwind, decompress, recharge. But I'm not done basking in the sun!

I will take this time to stay up, read, write long letters, and maybe restlessly wander a few avenues. I have quite a collection of yoga books beckoning to me from the shelves. I aim to read a few and share with you my thoughts. I will also be taking some Ayurvedic courses with Pratichi Mathur at Vedika Gurukula, and will be attending the first workshop in CIIS's new Certificate in Yoga course, taught by none other than T. K. V. Desikachar! What was I complaining about earlier?  

Posted by Katherine Rae at 9:36 PM | Permalink | Comments (15) | TrackBacks (0)