Autumn
By Mayumi Yamamoto  17th November  2023

I used to like autumn.

 

We have colourful autumnal flowers in the fields.

Red spider lily.

Canada goldenrod.

 

They are free from human control, and

decorate gloomy brown fields as they wish

with ruddy faces and golden slender figures.

 

Once, autumn had boisterous flower parades

in my eyes.

They were lively and noisy, and no less mirthful

than those of spring.

It was a joy to witness their arrival,

even though they stayed in this world

for only a passing season.

I didn’t mind.

I still welcomed their fleeting visit

and sent them off generously.

Then, I looked forward to winter

while expecting Christmas

and a Happy New Year.

 

I loved autumn.

​

But this year,

I can’t celebrate autumn

irrespective of its boast of beautiful flowers.

Because my flowers in the balcony

that have survived a sizzling summer

on her grave

--once having exhibited their beautiful figures

as she did--

now squat and grab onto poles

to support themselves,

as they wither

with each passing day

until they fall onto the soil.

That reminds me of her last days.

 

Yesterday,

you asked me to take

pictures of these autumnal flowers

blooming in the fields with abandon.

“We don’t have autumn

in our tropical island,”

you said.

 

“You are lucky,”

I said voiceless

in my mind.

 

I was grateful to you

for sharing my grief

on the night when I lost her.

It was in spring.

 

I’ll send you the pictures of

red spider lily and

Canada goldenrod.

 

Winter is just around the corner

in my balcony.

Biographies of Poets

Mayumi Yamamoto is a writer and academic based in Kyoto, Japan. She taught at Yamaguchi University for 20 years and in between was assigned as a research associate for two years at the embassy of Japan, Kathmandu. After her retirement, she started writing nonacademic articles in English. Her literary works have appeared in Literary Yard, Indian Periodical, the Space Ink, RIC Journal, Spillwords, Ariel Chart and Parcham. She authored several published books in the Japanese language.

Ravi Kiran is an Electronics Engineer and is a working professional. All things Japanese -from Bonsai to Japanese kitchen knives fascinate him. Haiku, which is a journey for Ravi, is also a means of unwinding in the midst of his professional routine. Ravi Kiran’s haiku are featured in leading international journals. Ravi Kiran lives in Hyderabad with his wife and daughter.

Rupa Anand is a spiritual seeker and a published writer of experiences. Writing since 2008, her poems are an expression of images, thoughts, ideas, emotions and events that somehow get etched upon her mind and psyche. She says “There is magic in Nature. I hope my poems will connect readers with the beauty and calm of the natural world." Rupa has a BA (Hons) in English Literature from Lady Shri Ram College, University of Delhi. A cancer survivor, she lives in New Delhi with her husband, daughter and beloved cats.

Vijay Prasad is a poet from Patna, India. He is disappointingly interested in life. He has a passion for haiku, language, philosophy, and so on ... He is published in Bones, Under the Basho, tinywords, Failed Haiku, The Mumba Journal, Haiku Dialogue, Prune Juice, among others. 

Satbir Chadha is the author of the highly acclaimed book, “For God Loves Foolish People”, for which she was awarded the Reuel International prize. Her second novel is “Betrayed, tale of a rogue surgeon”, a medical thriller. She has three solo poetry collections to her credit, “Breeze”, “Glass Doors”, and the recent “The Last Lamp”. She was awarded the Litpreneur Award by Authorspress in 2019, And she is also the founder of the NISSIM International Prize for Literature, awarded every year to upcoming writers of English prose and poetry.