leaves leave

Through the summer they hid me,
the sun playing hide-and-seek
the moon wondering if I was there
the birds sheltered from the wind

Autumn finds them ablaze in a flurry of color,
amazed, I look on as the hues tempt me to pick what comes next
but they surprise me with their creativity

Cold brings them to rest
floundering, gathering far from their old neighbors
finding new companions,
children shuffling through mixing them up again

until a new blaze
flames dance into the night
soft breezes carry the cinders and ashes far, far away
to settle again, become part of the soil again

and return next year to begin the cycle anew