Catching Leaves                    February 25, 2001

The wind came in from the west

During the night

And I’d heard that it had been

A strong and deadly wind

But when it reached us

It brought only warmth and

Sunshine and the sound of its

Last breath.

I sat in traffic on my way

Home from the bookstore, and the wind

Had been playing with the long dead

Leaves of autumn.

It kicked them around and dragged them

Skyward and

Tossed them back down to

Earth.

Sometimes violently,

Sometimes gently

And I opened my two front windows

While waiting at a stop light

Hoping to catch some of the leaves,

Perhaps to take one home…

Or perhaps to throw it back to the wind

To add to the chaos my own little

Force, to see if I could do as the wind

Had done;

But I had no luck catching a leaf

And the light turned green,

And I kept the windows down to feel

The remaining wind,

And I headed back home

And I had almost forgotten.