Presentiment: an essay by local author John Bragstad
Aug 23, 2023 09:50AM ● By Content Editor
Photo provided
By local author and writer John Bragstad for Boreal Community Media - August 23, 2023
IT IS THE APEX of summer.
Sailboats are in casual
stride up towards Isle Royale
or across to the Apostles.
It is a time of play,
of resurgence,
of companionship
and abundant
melody.
But one day soon,
appearing,
couched in the grass
or in the bevy of
tree canopy,
a speckled leaf
will appear red,
orange, or
sometimes
yellow.
It will signal
the coming of
Autumn,
the change in
character,
the disruption
of joy and
relaxed ease.
As suddenly,
life will become
more serious,
more deliberate,
more sober.
Ducks foraging will be alerted
to soon migration.
Beavers pick up the pace.
Canoeists might guard
what little time they have
left
in the border country,
among the pines.
Life is altered.
With the coming of
that single leaf,
we know our
perspective
is changing.
We watch ever more deliberately
for life’s advantages, we wait
ever more aware of tomorrow’s
benedictions.
We grow mindful of the time,
keep watch over our
anxiousness while we celebrate
this
festival of emerging color.
Related: Meet your Boreal Community Media Freelance Journalist: John Bragstad
By local author and writer John Bragstad for Boreal Community Media - August 23, 2023
IT IS THE APEX of summer.
Sailboats are in casual
stride up towards Isle Royale
or across to the Apostles.
It is a time of play,
of resurgence,
of companionship
and abundant
melody.
But one day soon,
appearing,
couched in the grass
or in the bevy of
tree canopy,
a speckled leaf
will appear red,
orange, or
sometimes
yellow.
It will signal
the coming of
Autumn,
the change in
character,
the disruption
of joy and
relaxed ease.
As suddenly,
life will become
more serious,
more deliberate,
more sober.
While not there yet,
the seasons will
announce a chilling
amplitude.
the seasons will
announce a chilling
amplitude.
Ducks foraging will be alerted
to soon migration.
Beavers pick up the pace.
Canoeists might guard
what little time they have
left
in the border country,
among the pines.
Life is altered.
With the coming of
that single leaf,
we know our
perspective
is changing.
We watch ever more deliberately
for life’s advantages, we wait
ever more aware of tomorrow’s
benedictions.
We grow mindful of the time,
keep watch over our
anxiousness while we celebrate
this
festival of emerging color.
Summer shapes itself
into harvest-time.
We accept its eternal
pace, step in line to its
rhythm,
reluctant acceptance,
yet fearful of the disquiet
one leaf can bring.
into harvest-time.
We accept its eternal
pace, step in line to its
rhythm,
reluctant acceptance,
yet fearful of the disquiet
one leaf can bring.
About the author
John A. Bragstad has been a therapist, working with couples and individuals, for 25 years. He is self-published and is enjoying retirement. Lake Superior is just off his front porch.
He has written three books: Compass Season, Loon Laughter at Midnight, and Who's Watching Whoo? They are available in Grand Marais at Drury Lane and Lake Superior Trading Post, or at Amazon.com.Related: Meet your Boreal Community Media Freelance Journalist: John Bragstad
