The Little Autumn Leaf — A Poem, A Perspective
This poem from Polyhued is a beautiful portrayal of the transition from summer to fall and the transformation of the green foliage into the bright hues of autumn. It follows the journey of a single leaf as it falls from its tree and experiences the beauty of the changing season, while also expressing its desire to continue dancing with the wind and not to fall to the ground.
With the dusk of summer, the cool fall dawned,
The heat lazed around in respite and yawned,
The green on trees turned to amber and auburn,
To gamboge, to scarlet, to crimson and maroon.
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This new generation of bright autumn foliage
Was the toughest yet; no leaf had fallen through the haze,
There was none among them wanting to leave the wood,
Rocking with the breeze, determined they stood.
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A snap and a crack at the apex of the canopy,
As under the lurid trees passed a hoary jalopy,
Out of the vivid sunshade carved very fine,
Fell out a leaf dressed in brilliant carmine.
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Cursing his luck, but grateful to the wind,
Who swayed him in and out in a way splendid,
Ensuring that before his unfortunate fall,
He had time to waver and please one and all.
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He glanced above at his polyhued brothers,
As he continued his fall devoid of shudders,
The siblings up above looked at him dejected,
Wailing, calling the young leaf who was ejected.
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The leaf didn’t want to fall to the ground,
And be crushed under the feet of man or hound,
He coveted to fly like this forever,
Dancing with the wind, leaving the stage never.
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It started to rain; how, he didn’t know,
Of crimson, maroon, scarlet and gamboge,
Raindrops the size of headphone ear pads,
Tinting the sky blue to a warm carnelian splash.
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Out came the brothers to hold the leaf’s hand,
Exorcising his lonesomeness to a faraway land,
His resistance to the fall found a way outside,
While a calm descended on him; sure to bide.
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Lightly the droplets fell to the ground,
Forming a royal path with barely a sound,
The little leaf along with the brothers from his abode,
Fabricated a majestic polychrome palace road.
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This poem is from Polyhued: An Anthology of Poetic Hues. To check out the book, head over to the Amazon link below:
Interested in verses about nature? Here is another from Polyhued, Petrichor:
https://medium.com/@emphiasarmlorn/petrichor-the-rain-the-river-and-i-ec21b71dd61e
I also have a short story, A Night of Everlasting Harmony, published in the anthology, Golden Light. To check it out, you can click the link below:
Want to know more about me? Head over to my introductory blog using the link below: