LEAVES

LEAVES
By
Sandra Osborne

One enchanted autumn day
In woods secluded, far away
I came upon an awesome sight
Much to my intense delight.
For there was gold, gold everywhere
As far as the eye could see
Liquid sunshine and leafy gold
Bright and warm next to the shadow of a tree.

Some leaves danced crackling about my feet
Some shimmered in the golden heat
Some floated ever so gently down
Some had turned from green to brown
Every leaf as vivid as can be
Lo and behold! The art of the living tree.

The ground carpeted in dry red and gold leaf
Interspersed with freshly fallen green relief
One tree stood tall and stately like a majestic lord
Compelling me to try and unravel the mystery of God.
From the mundane to the supreme
The burnished vision a poet’s dream.

I wondered if lovers had sat upon the scattered blushing leaves
Or if corpses were buried under some darkly bleeding leaves
For among the green and gold leaves there were many that were red
A leaf renders selfless service when one is alive or dead!
Showing no preferential attachment to the Mother Tree
Leaves fall autumnally as regular as can be.

Wondering still what lies beneath this leafy illusion
Several notions come to mind as wild as this profusion
How amazing it would be if beneath the leaves I dug deep
And found in one delightful sweep
No creepy crawly that could curl my toes
But instead a mother lode of new potatoes!

This sunlit path my yellow brick road
Before my step it had carried no load
The leaves delicate and crowded upon the ground
Their last breath a faint odor all around
I bent and picked a leaf out for my copy of the Good Book
A golden leaf to remind me of the strength it took
To be a leaf so loving and so giving
And to remind me to continually nurture my art of better living.

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