In a Thanksgiving 2000 letter to family and friends, Jeanette Hardage first shared the poem below evoking the glory of autumn. She followed it with lines from a hymn by Matthias Claudius, “We Plow the Fields and Scatter,” which celebrates the changing seasons as good gifts sent from heaven—signs of God’s love that are worthy of our thanks.
Being from California, and with the Navy generally sending Owen Hardage to places with temperate climates, Owen and Jeanette often did not live in locations that experienced spectacular fall foliage. Clearly it was something that Jeanette loved, and in this poem there is a note of mourning for those who cannot appreciate it as a gift. This piece, with one minor change, is included in her 2011 Faith and Other Matters anthology.
Autumn
Gold rained down and blew along the street.
Some folks raked up treasure piles.
Children chased and cherished the wealth.
Others reviled the riches.
As printed in a private letter, November 2000