Autumn Fades

“Well do (you) know what it’s like to have a graveyard as a friend,‘cos that’s where they are boy, all of them. Don’t seem likely I’ll get friends like that again”.

Talking Old Soldiers — Elton John, Bernie Taupin


“Autumn By The Lake” — Leonid Afremov

 
L ife’s too short and passes fast
we hold on tight to make it last
the ones we love leave too soon
quickly as an afternoon
of a splendid day in fall
that we struggle to recall
life’s too short and passes fast
we hold on tight to make it last

as memory grows overcast
the heart longs for the times that passed
as life’s moments fade away
sadly nothing can belay
the fog that settles with time
dulling what was once sublime
as memory grows overcast
the heart longs for the times that passed

*
rob kistner © 2022

More prosery at: dVerse

 



28 thoughts on “Autumn Fades”

  6. Gorgeous writing filled with wistful thoughts. Hold on to the now, my friend enjoy each splash of seasonal colors. You gave us a double delight, smiling here.

    Reply

  7. A simply exquisite poem from start to finish, Rob. Really moving. I loved it. These lines hit me especially:

    “the ones we love leave too soon
    quickly as an afternoon”

    So beautiful <3

    Reply

  9. Excellent response, taking on two stanzas, and fitting them masterfully together. Between the lines I sense the early loss of a loved one–your son if I recall correctly? I was 22 when my mother died; like a train wreck emotionally.

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    1. Thank you so much Glenn! 🙂 Yes, my Aaron is most definitely in there at the top my friend, but also many former bandmates with whom I performed over several decades, and several artists with whom, later in life, I used to regularly attend nationwide juried art shows. The number grows each year brother. My former business partner in my home theater design & fabrication company, and also my contemporary European furniture import & sales company — Barry — may be losing his long battle with MS & cancer. That will especially hurt if he goes before me. I have known him since I was in 8th grade. I am always put in mind of a passage, written by Bernie Taupin for Elton John, for their song, “Talking Old Soldiers” — the line goes:
      “Well do (you) know what it’s like to have a graveyard as a friend
      ‘Cos that’s where they are boy, all of them
      Don’t seem likely I’ll get friends like that again”

      Reply

  11. Rob, your top image is wonderful; I like that artist. Your wistfulness acknowledges that one’s memory might start to fade, but the heart never forgets <3

    Reply

  12. Life is ridiculously short when you consider the memories that could be made, places to see, people to learn about and love. This is a perfect comparison…
    “quickly as an afternoon
    of a splendid day in fall
    that we struggle to recall”
    I

    Reply

    1. When I was a young sprite Grace, my father used to say — “just wait, you’ll see how fast time goes. It will be gone before you realize it.” I never understood, because as a child, time feels like eternity. I get it now.

      Reply

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