This is a mixed media poem about the wonders of nature written by Cindy Ye. The poem’s inspiration is found in the changing seasons in Vancouver, BC.

In… Out…

In… Out…

The sky is changing from a deep ocean blue to a warm, orange glow.

Look at the shadows, crawling closer from the crevices of clustering trees.

They sway in the wind and loom up, up like reaching limbs to the emerging moon.

Orange burned on the clouds like a blazing flame until it wanes, settling into ashes and darkness.

Autumn leaves scatter on the ground, dull and dark. Their vibrant colours are replaced by the stars in the sky.

Turn back and listen. The howling wind starts to pick up and soon the language of nature changes too.

Summer birds turn into Autumn owls, crickets to spiders, green grass to yellow that are dry and crunches beneath every step forward.

Soon, the ash plunges into complete inky black that swallows up all the light.

Soon, even that will change as dawn peeks in through the clouds with bright eyes.

Soon, not just the skies, but the birds, the trees, the critters, the grass, will all go through another metamorphosis.

Winter is approaching and the world is never still.

Close your eyes. Reach up. Listen to their language.

In… Out…

Breathe.

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