LEAVES
Wherever we looked there were
leaves…
leaves like ancient parchment
that would
dissolve at your touch
wet leaves the color of
earthworms
leaves, monochromatic and
spikey
leaves of rust and dew
stacks of leaves, mounds of
leaves
mildewed and insect-ravished
leaves
leaves rotted by the rain
and shriveled like dyspeptic
old men baked by the sun
drifting leaves, whirlpooling
leaves
leaves in gutters and clotted
sewers
burning leaves, their gray
plumes
wafting over rooftops
raked and bagged leaves
decaying leaves reduced to
mulch
leaves pressed between the
pages of books
to mark a memory or phrase
leaves adrift on river
currents
to be carried off to
destinations
known
only to leaves