In my free time — in between filing stories on the H1N1 virus or the Planning Commission or crowded classrooms — I like to write about things that would never make the front page. A fall leaf, for example. Imagine: “Breaking news: A leaf on a maple tree at the intersection of Helman and North Main streets turned red this morning, as it prepared for its descent off the tree, which is readying for winter.” 

So here’s an odd, just-written, somewhat-scrappy poem about that very leaf.


The leaf

held by a stem to a tall tree
turning from green
to a deeper shade
the same                
                but not quite                            
                            the same shade
as the other leaves
like flames
and now the wind
                 or the branch
                             — no: the leaf —
is alive and it
                 falls
                             free
for seconds.

Think of that when someone says
life is short.


I’m confident lots of you can come up with better leaf poems. Send in your verses by posting them in the comments section below or e-mailing them to hguzik@dailytidings.com.



Photo from Ashland Daily Photo blog.