The Autumn of Life in 5 Paintings and Verses

The Autumn of Life

Paintings and Verses by Dr Abe V Rotor

"Autumn is a second spring when every leaf is a flower" 

- Albert Camus 

                              1. Autumn Leaves about to Fall

Autumn Leaves about to Fall, acrylic AVR 2005

It's a song, each note a leaf falling from a tree,

each pause, silence as it hangs on some levee;

it's imagery whispering in soliloquy

with a hammock below in cantabile.

Softly the breeze comes blowing, cool and free,

picking leaf after leaf from the sturdy tree;

each an event of the tree's long history,

and the youth in me, in sweet memory. 

"Every leaf speaks bliss to me, fluttering from the autumn tree"

- Emily Brontë

2.  A Walk in the Woods in Autumn

A Walk in the Woods in Autumn, acrylic by AVR

Meditate at sunrise

In kaleidoscope of colors

Weaving through the mist,

With whispers of devotion.

Take a book and flip the pages,

Slowly with intent feelings,

As the early breeze brushes

Your forehead and brawn.

Or walk down the lane

Trodden only by the unseen;

Before the season is over,

Let each one praise Nature.

 Autumn…the year's last, loveliest smile – William Cullen.

3. Kaleidoscope in Nature  

Kaleidoscope in Nature in acrylic (20" x 24") AVR 2015

A world of colors in splendor and grandeur ,

     in magnificence and glory;

the mountains in summer, the trees in autumn;

     the sky at sunset over the sea.

Undulating hills, meandering rivers,

     flowing down through the mist;

the valley wakes up to the magic of sunrise,

     in living colors that never cease.

Coral reefs, counterpart of gardens on land,

     untouched this submarine park

in luxurious colors and hues in the day,

     hauntingly glow in the dark.  

The rainbow grows in the sky with dreams,

     romance in the air in colors divine

for a lovely pair bound by love and care,

     with nature's beauty they enshrine. ~

"Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall."

- F. Scott Fitzgerald.

4.  Kites and Dreams

Detail of Kites and Dreams mural by the author.  Courtesy of 

San Vicente Municipal Hall, Ilocos Sur

When I was young I dreamed of kites;

the higher they flew, the happier I was -

yet sadder, lonelier.

For who would like to stay up for long,

perhaps forever in the sky,

lofty it may be.

It is not always good to dream;

for a strong wind comes suddenly

and breaks the string.

And if my kite didn't fly, as it did

many times; well, dreams are

but air castles.

I loved big kites, big dreams,

until they took me away -

far, far away.

And I never built and flew kites again,

yet kept on dreaming,

of returning.~ 

"Autumn carries more gold in its pocket than all the other seasons."

– Jim Bishop.

5. Old Man and Waterfall

Waterfall in Autumn by AVRotor

He is old now and the cataract is but a spring,

He touches the spring. Where have all the waters gone?

Yes, he sighs with relief, his gaze takes him far away,

And there the last drops of his waterfall meet the sea;

And the sea roars in gladness, roars in a thousand cheers. ~

 "Autumn shows us how beautiful it is to let things go." – Unknown.