Rainbows and Ristras

It is time to put up the chili peppers you just brought in
   from the garden,
The ones which patiently waited with you to watch this
   years' very last streaks arc across the sky
         To dance with effervescent rainbows banded with
            colored lessons and memories.

Hang them differently so they can give you something
   new
         to remember what you learned this time around.

Each ristra tells a unique story to honor the people who
   helped you
         till the soil of imagination and ideas,
         plant the seeds, believe in yourself,
         labor the long hours, days and months of toil to
         reach for what is possible,
         and persevere through the stormy tempests
         of what you feared the most.

How long did it take you this time to turn from your
   eager green self
         into a growing cacophany of orange heat
         and baked sepia too hot to taste,
         before you finally surrendered
         and burned as deeply as you could
         into the copper, cherry and heart of your
            realization?

No matter.

It is finally time to put up the chili peppers you just
   brought in from the garden
         whether they are ready or not
         green or red,
         early or late,
         to celebrate your harvest
         and wrap your shoulders
         in effervescent rainbows.