Life, death, and renewal
As the gray of winter descends, let’s embrace the breathtaking beauty of autumn in Ann Arbor. It sure beats reflecting on the heinous events of 2020! And really, there’s no place prettier than the U-M campus in the fall. Enjoy these literary interpretations of the season, along with some gorgeous photos by Michigan Photography’s Scott Soderberg.
Jim Silk - 1969
I enjoyed the photographs of Ann Arbor in October, along with the collection of autumn quotations, but I was surprised you didn’t include a little of the poem “Kicking the Leaves” by the great poet Donald Hall, who taught at Michigan in the 60s and 70s. Here are a couple of excerpts that would have been a good fit.
Kicking the leaves, October, as we walk home together
from the game, in Ann Arbor,
on a day the color of soot, rain in the air;
I kick at the leaves of maples,
reds of seventy different shades, yellows
like old paper; and poplar leaves, fragile and pale;
and elm leaves, flags of a doomed race.
I kick at the leaves, making a sound I remember
as the leaves swirl upward from my boot,
and flutter; . . .
. . . .
Kicking the leaves today, as we walk home together
from the game, among crowds of people
with their bright pennants, as many and bright as leaves,
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