LEAVES

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