branches. A fallen red leaf
dances and glides. She broke off
and cut her ties. Carried by a breeze
over mountain, prairie and

trees. She hitches herself
to dreams riding the current
in streams. So far from her roots
she has flung. So long since

she raised her young. A buttery
sun warms her days. A cheesy moon
coats her in shade. She skips over
feathery ferns. He waits but she

doesn't return. A mosaic tile, her
pieces are small and freestyle. She's a
blood orange sky, a swirling candy
cane over ocean, rock and terrain.