Like This Leaf

autumn leaf on bench

September 16, 1988

Photo courtesy of ientu

Like this first leaf of Autumn
I fell for you
I traded my lofty attachments
for sudden flight—
gusts and whirlwinds
forsaken places
forgotten corners
I let it go—
that comfortable glade of green—
and soon found I could know
other colors—
love other places

Like this first leaf of Autumn
I set my course somewhere between
ecstasy and earth
I too fear December’s icy blasts
I too dream of Spring