A couple of days ago it happened again: the first day of the season when we could look out of our bedroom window early in the morning and see the sun reflected on the Wabash (marred slightly by our neighbor's car and garage, but just don't look at that).
We have to wait for all the leaves to fall and for the sun to hit the surface of the river at just the right angle. This conjunction of natural phenomena usually lasts from just before the Winter Solstice until the Vernal Equinox, or thereabouts. Then the leaves start budding, and the river view, though only a few blocks away, is hidden from us for many months to come.
Several old heart-felt American songs feature the moonlight on the leafy banks of the Wabash, along with cornfields, sycamore trees, and candlelight (e.g., "On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" & "Back Home Again in Indiana").
My hymn, however, is raised to the chilly winter Wabash, the rare December sunlight; the stark, bare trees; and the lone golden leaf still hanging on! (In the upper left - hand corner, see?)
P.S. Musical renditions:
"On the Banks of the Wabash, Far Away" &
"Back Home Again in Indiana"
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