Apparel, by Carol A. Serylo

As we unwrap the apparel of self
And begin to look outside ourselves
As well as inside ourselves,
May we look at the changes
And the awesome ways we begin
To see and feel the beauty
Of self,
And start to begin to shine
With color, originality and the warming
And welcoming of the glow inside.

Just like some of us
Feel happiness and appreciation
For the ways our trees
Start to change color and develop into
Such individual shapes and sizes
Of red, brown, orange, yellow, white
And some shine as the sunshine or clouds
Reflect off their leaves and we begin
To start the new season and reason
Of this autumn.

This morning some of us look
Beyond what could be or should be
Without looking at ourselves
And what might be right in front of us
That has been put on the shelf for so long
That we might have numbed the possible
Emotional, spiritual, physical, intellectual or sense
Of our natural surroundings
That brought some of us
To this point in time.