Adrift On The Wind

Chanson d'automne
Les sanglots longs
Des violons
      De l'automne
Blessent mon cœur
D'une langueur
        Monotone.
Tout suffocant
Et blême, quand
       Sonne l'heure,
Je me souviens
Des jours anciens
       Et je pleure;
Et je m'en vais
Au vent mauvais
        Qui m'emporte
Deçà, delà,
Pareil à la
        Feuille morte.
              par Paul Verlaine

As I left work today, the sun getting progressively lower on the horizon with the passing of each day, I heard the creaking of many wings. As I looked to my right, I saw a skein of Canada geese heading towards me on an intercept course. They were low and headed north.

Their wings do creak if you listen carefully and they are close enough. These guys were low, barely 50 feet up. I paused to watch them. There were a few honks, I imagine to myself that they are signaling position in the formation and reporting what they see on the ground. I notice the goose nearest me, on the far left of the V. He or she, glances to the right occasionally as if to maintain position on the lead. (As any good wingman does.)

As they passed overhead and then wheeled to their right, I was hoping they would land. It's pretty cool to watch them do so. Gear down (feet down and spread), flaps deployed (wings arched and fixed), they glide in with seemingly little effort. They change positions as they come in with imperceptible movements of those wings. Entire formations land and instantly cover a field if the flock is big enough. I've never seen them collide, even when there is no "Paddles" on the ground to guide them in (or wave them off for that matter).

Landing on the ground they come in like a parachutist with a ram-air 'chute. Their feet are moving when they touch down and they come to a stop within a few feet. On water it's more interesting, they skid in, much like an aircraft with pontoons. Again though, they are down and settled within mere feet.

This bunch didn't land but continued down to the more southerly parts of the grounds where my employer's buildings are situated. Fewer people on the lower stretches of the campus (as the company refers to the grounds). So they can dine, and crap, in peace.

But seeing more and more geese reminds me that summer is gone. The year is winding down and I wonder, what did I accomplish this year? Must I mark the passing years with accomplishments and have goals and all that corporate stuff?

While I play the game, I'm not built that way. If something needs doing, I do it. If I need something, I work for it. I work to support my living, not the other way around.

Life is far too short to worry about such things. I like to float on the wind, going where life takes me, enjoying the ride.

Fall is a beautiful time of year, yet as the sunlit hours grow fewer, as the flowers fade, I'm reminded that this existence is but a short stay on a longer journey.

(Source)

Autumn Song
The long sobs
Of the violins
      Of autumn
Wound my heart
With a monotonous
      Languor.
All suffocating
And pale, when
      Strikes the hour,
I remember
Days of yore
      And I cry;
And I go
The evil wind
      That carries me
Hither and thither,
Blown as a
      Dead leaf.
             by Paul Verlaine

Oh yes, and John has a long mustache...

(Think D-Day...)