The nature has bestowed our habitat Earth, with four seasons; spring, summer, Autumn, Winter, and all of them have its own colours, sounds and vibes. We are now in the month of November, which is last of Autumn months and beginning of cold weather in northern hemisphere. This write up is to “Welcome November"; " November’s sky is chill and drear, November’s leaf is red and sear;” as said by Sir Walter Scott.
Welcome November
October is the eleventh month of the year in the Gregorian calendar, following October and preceding December. It is the last of four months to have a length of 30 days. In the ancient Roman calendar, In the ancient Roman calendar, November was the ninth month of the calendar. Its name comes from word "novem", which in Latin means “nine.” When the Romans converted to a 12-month calendar by adding January and February, they could not replace this month also on any Roman emperor. So, now let's welcome Happy New Month to November with Henry David Thoreau saying; “The thinnest yellow light of November is more warming and exhilarating than any wine they tell of. The mite which November contributes becomes equal in value to the bounty of July."
The month of November is traditionally a time in which the Christian Catholic community remembers those who have died. It is related to the fact that the end of November is the end of the Liturgical Year with a new year starting the First Sunday of Advent – the four-week period of preparation before Christmas. John Burroughs says that “How beautifully leaves grow old? How full of light and color are their last days?”
November is a month of late spring in the Southern Hemisphere and late autumn in the Northern Hemisphere. November is a relaxing month; because it's also the perfect month to get into a regular routine. With the chilly weather and calming vibes, November is a great time to take up meditation or go for a yoga class to get your body moving. It's an excellent month to recharge, set new intentions and learn something new.
November is the last month of the Fall season. November is a month of contrasts — dreary, grey skies combined with vivid red, gold, yellow and green leaves. It seems as if everything is changing — and sometimes the pace of change appears to be too fast. If you feel like this, retreat, relax and take some time for yourself. The flower for the month of November is the chrysanthemum. “Spring is brown; summer, green; autumn, yellow; winter, white; November, gray.” – Henry David Thoreau
People born in November often reflect the depth and mystery associated with this transitional period. Governed mostly by the zodiac signs Scorpio and lastly Sagittarius, November births produce individuals known for their intensity, passion, and adventurous spirit; these traits make November-borns particularly dynamic and influential, adding a layer of intrigue to their personalities. People born in November just can't help themselves but look very attractive. Without even trying they attract attention like bees to honey. People love to be in their witty and laidback presence.
The flower for the month of November is the chrysanthemum. In the US, the chrysanthemum generally symbolizes friendship, happiness, and well-being. However, If you want to express your sorrow or neglected love you would give a bouquet of yellow chrysanthemums. Chrysanthemums: Especially in the Asian context, Chrysanthemum flowers are commonly used in funeral floral arrangements to say goodbye. White Chrysanthemums in particular are symbolic of bidding farewell, while celebrating a life well-lived by the dearly departed. The month of November may also be considered to be last of year's sequel before chill cold takes hold and life slows down to a hill.
Cynthia Rylant finds some thing about food in the month when she says, “In November, the smell of food is different. It is an orange smell. A squash and pumpkin smell. It tastes like cinnamon and can fill up a house in the morning, can pull everyone from bed in a fog.” Clyde Watson looks on nature bounties when says; “November comes, and November goes. With the last red berries and the first white snows.” Aldo Leopold says it beautifully; "The wind that makes music in November corn is in a hurry. The stalks hum, the loose husks whisk skyward in half-playing swirls, and the wind hurries on... A tree tries to argue, bare limbs waving, but there is no detaining the wind."
E. E. Cummings sees through the open skies and says that “Peering from some high window, at the gold of November sunset and feeling that if day has to become night, this is a beautiful way.” Martin Luther King, Jr. looks into lives outside and says; "There comes a time when people get tired of being pushed out of the glittering sunlight of life's July and left standing amid the piercing chill of an alpine November." John Clare finds the month's glory as “So dull and dark are the November days. The lazy mist high up the evening curled, and now the morn quite hides in the smoke and haze; the place we occupy seems all the world.” One may sum up through L.M. Montgomery saying “But there is always a November space after the leaves have fallen when she felt it was almost indecent to intrude on the woods…for their glory terrestrial had departed and their glory celestial of spirit and purity and whiteness had not yet come upon them.”
A love poem about November; “It was November — the month of crimson sunsets, parting birds, deep, sad hymns of the sea, passionate wind-songs in the pines.” Take me to the woods in November, let's walk in the gentle peace of the trees."
A Thanksgiving PoemBy Paul Laurence Dunbar
The sun hath shed its kindly light, Our harvesting is gladly o’er Our fields have felt no killing blight, Our bins are filled with goodly store. From pestilence, fire, flood, and sword We have been spared by thy decree, And now with humble hearts, O Lord, We come to pay our thanks to thee. We feel that had our merits been The measure of thy gifts to us, We erring children, born of sin, Might not now be rejoicing thus. No deed of our hath brought us grace; When thou were nigh our sight was dull, We hid in trembling from thy face, But thou, O God, wert merciful. Thy mighty hand o’er all the land Hath still been open to bestow Those blessings which our wants demand From heaven, whence all blessings flow. Thou hast, with ever watchful eye, Looked down on us with holy care, And from thy storehouse in the sky Hast scattered plenty everywhere. Then lift we up our songs of praise To thee, O Father, good and kind; To thee we consecrate our days; Be thine the temple of each mind. With incense sweet our thanks ascend; Before thy works our powers pall; Though we should strive years without end, We could not thank thee for them all.
November : The month of changes!
To November,
Thanks a bunch
for reminding us,
that the letting go
is the only way to make roads
for new blooms!
It is November By Elizabeth Shield
It is November
And all the leaves face my way
Overlapping tussocks of grass
Like long forgotten hills
Dwelling in the overhang of fall
It is November
Orange ribbons hand in tatters
Patched up yellow cloaks are draped
And whisking in the wind
Then drifting to the earth
And becoming winters pillow
It is November
And there stands a lonely tower
Base adorned with red bushes
Flags no longer flying
Crouched and crippled by the frost
It is November
My feet bear down on acorns
A thousand fold
All left and forgotten
Even to the squirrels
Just a layer ‘neath my feet
It is November
The solitary pines stand solid
Near the ivy covered wall
Their boughs raise and hail the heavens
And their needles fall
As the autumn wind dances a mournful dance
It is November
Bare branches rake the cloudy skies
And scratch out their heartfelt pleas
Against cold glass windows
Seeking what they have lost and will not find
It is November
An old gate stands ajar
Beckoning to no one
Standing solidly open
Despite the cruel fall wind
It is November
Trees make colored circles
A fading gold on fading green
A fireworks display
Now falling to the ground
It is November
Cold air fills my body
Cruel wind tosses my hair
I seek a shelter from autumn
My door is open
Now I am home
Under The Full November Moon By Ian Lewis Copestick
Under a large, round, yellow
Full November moon
The chill of the cold, dark night
Slips in through my window
It fights against the heating
To send a shuddering shiver down my spine
Under the full November moon
People spill out of noisy pubs
Leaving heat, light, music
A false, inebriated happiness
To stagger, swirling home
To warm beds of love
Or cold, empty houses
And late night T.V.
Under the full November moon
Teenager's breath leaves clouds in the air
Hanging heavy and mingling with smoke
From spliffs secretly held in cupped hands
Hanging around shops, parks
Even the disappearing phone boxes
Feeling the arrogance of youth
Course through their veins
Under the full November moon
The middle aged sit
In armchairs with tea mugs
T.V. droning as they dream of their youth
When they were slim and ****
Or hungry and virile
Before it all slipped so quickly away
Under the full November moon
Swingers swap flesh and fluids
In hotels and motels
With no more passion or emotion
Than passing the salt
Under the full November moon
Prostitutes haul their tired, aching bodies
From car to car for the price of a hit
The dealers swagger, stoked full of *******
With the power and arrogance of mediaeval lords
Under the full November moon
People sweat in police cells
Under grey, itchy blankets
On blue rubber mattresses
In a white - tiled nightmare
Under the full November moon
I think of them all
As I sir writing ideas
In a cheap, lined pad
Then turn off the lights
As the full November moon
Bids goodnight
To us all