A few months back I had my third grade middle school students write acrostic poems. I was blown away by their creativity and wit and stowed the stack of over 200 poems safely in a drawer, vowing to laminate and hang some of them on the wall in my classroom when I had the chance.
Months later, I finally found the time last week to do it and I sifted through the pile to choose which ones to display. I’m going to show them to you in a separate post soon, don’t worry, because some of them are downright hilarious. One of the best, though, was this poem using the word “fall”; while it’s simple, I find it sweet, nicely illustrated, and–considering it’s written in a foreign language for the girl–gently poetic.
As I taped the poem up on the wall I found myself gazing out the third floor window of my classroom at the treetops, expecting to see the vibrant red and gold leaves of the season; it was with a wistful sigh that I realized they had snuck away in the whispers of the crisp breeze now chilling my nose and fingers. December is swiftly enveloping us and winter has crept her way into the air, even sprinkling a delicate layer of snow upon us one evening as if to quietly remind us of her inevitable arrival. She may seem serene enough now with the days still cool though not unbearable, but I am terrified of the frigid brutality with which she will bear down on us soon enough.
One of Korean people’s favorite questions to ask a foreigner is, “Do you have seasons in your country?” I’m not sure who puts the notion in their heads that Korea is one of the few places in the world with seasons, but they never fail to be impressed when I answer with an exasperated, of course! To be fair, though, my home of California does not have the dramatic change of seasons that many other places do, and the fall season in Korea was more strikingly beautiful than any I’ve ever experienced.
While I didn’t take nearly as many photos as I would’ve liked, I did manage to capture some of the fall colors of Daegu mostly on my iphone. Here’s a few pictures… Farewell fall, I’ll miss you with your warm evenings and brilliant views.
Where do you think has the most beautiful fall?