Autumn Bliss

9:00am and a perfect morning for an autumn run. The air was soggy and saturated with the aroma of the tilted earth: a mixture of soil and cinnamon and the sweetness of apples in the distance. Apple cider. Apple pie. Caramel apple. All mixed into the breeze to be tasted by me, as I descend into the streets for my morning cardio.

The path before me was speckled with a canopy of greens and yellows. A shining puddle in every leaf beneath my shoes. I entered the world of fall splendor and sipped the air as I went.

To my delight, I realized that the trees were different down every road--like different parallel worlds on the grid of Grand Rapids. One lane of brightness brought the sight of spotted trees, sleek as if the bark had melted off. To my eyes, it looked as if the road was lined with giant lizards that had plunged themselves into the ground, with many tiny arms reaching up to embrace the sky and spilling pieces of the heavens' radiance to the ground. Peels of ruby and lime.

I bid the lizards farewell and entered the avenue of wood nymphs. They are beautiful, feminine creatures frozen eternally in place in various forms of arabesque and pirouette. Arms and legs extended and branching into a delicate tangle of ribbons in the sky, laced with lemon and mango feathers. The frozen ballet spread for a half mile and the silver blotted sky hummed a celestial melody of whimsical notes.

Another street was studded with Grecian statues. Holding themselves straight and erect, the trees proudly held up a grand hallow of fire, that rained quietly around me as I passed through their ancient shadows. A sight worthy of Demeter and celebrated by followers of Dionysus. The tattoo of my shoes against the pavement sang a dithyramb--a tribute to Classicism--and a fine accompaniment to the giggling saytrs, darting hither and thither in the grand spectacle of autumn.