Cows graze in the grass
Caterpillars eat leaves
Humans ate the whole world
Turning God’s oasis into a feast

My veins the roots,
            my mind
the tree,
       growing stronger
over time..
              rings of contemplation
show where I came from.

         Imagination are the  
leaves that flourish in
           rainbow hues.

And every leaf that falls
is but a reflection that doesn't
                                          look back...

But as it falls,
                         Its nourishment
for the ideas that may still be a
             leaf growing next fall..

Leaf Fall
by Michael R. Burch

Whatever winds encountered soon resolved
to swirling fragments, till chaotic heaps
of leaves lay pulsing by the backyard wall.
In lieu of rakes, our fingers sorted each
dry leaf into its place and built a high,
soft bastion against earth's gravitron—
a patchwork quilt, a trampoline, a bright
impediment to fling ourselves upon.

And nothing in our laughter as we fell
into those leaves was like the autumn's cry
of also falling. Nothing meant to die
could be so bright as we, so colorful—
clad in our plaids, oblivious to pain
we'd feel today, should we leaf-fall again.

Originally published by The Neovictorian/Cochlea. Keywords/Tags: Fall, autumn, leaf, leaves, swirling heaps, piles, wind, rakes, laughter, backyard, play, playing, falling, children, bright, colorful, plaids