Autumn Joy

Backblipping again as I stayed until late at my Burnham sister's chatting with our French sister. She has been reading our mother's diary from 1959 which gave us much cause for discussion. Having worked in horticulture all my life I know how arduous it can be but life for our parents and grandmother was unbelievably hard. My sister from France has been feeling quite fragile mentally recently and I think our sisterly chat over the past few days has helped us all.

French sister, who teaches English, is extremely well-informed and read and we have enjoyed sharing my daily blip poems with her. I didn't know that she and her best friend at school used to love to write and share poetry. She understands and appreciates the forms and laws/lores of poetry that go completely over my head.

French sister gave us each a little pot of lip balm with a "crème brûlée" texture which I've photographed in Burnham sister's pretty garden. Lots of flowers to choose from but this was the obvious choice, Sedum spectabile Autumn Joy, because the colour is perfect with the balm and French sister's middle name is Joy. The tiny pot reminds me of an enamel one filled with rouge that our mother kept in her dressing-table drawer. 


Today's poem is As impeceptibly as Grief by Emily Dickinson. http://www.bartleby.com/113/2045.html


I was concerned when I read the title of the poem but my sisters and I found it uplifting. Grief doesn't last, even if its effects never truly go away. It's normal and joy will return. Summer must leave in order that it can return. That's the cycle of life.


I'll catch up with comments in due course.