- The dry leaf drifted down
As it was wafted away
It rolled and pitched
It trembled and twirled
It spun and whirled
A yellow trapeze
Borne by the breeze
Floating in currents of pain
In aimless oscillations
Bleeding on thorny moments
Piercing deeper and deeper
In its being
Sinking in waves of separation
In an ever decending arc
Across the blue voids
From the sun kissed top
Of a hoary tree
To the russet floor
Spread by autumn leaves
On the dusty earth
As it settled on the heap
Of dying leaves
It couldn't sigh
It couldn't weep
But looked back
In a vacant stare
At the procession of amber leaves
Like falling stars
Bridging the space
And lighting up the past
In a pageant of memory
Of bud, flower, and leaf
A blend of sap and scent
In a sweet confussion
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- Like a heady wine
Rioting in every pore
And the clapping chorus
Of leafy hands
On the green eminence
On the merrypole of spring
Dance of light and shade
On the glossy leaves
Forever fluttering
In a scented tide
In an airy rythm
Of a sunny symphony of joy.
Lying on that mossy heap
In a state of benumbed sleep
It thought sad and deep
Could the gravitation pull in reverse
Could it ever traverse
- That little distance
Between vernal fragrance
And the memory of its scent
Between the roseate glow
On the green pinnacle
And the despair of dark descent
Could it ever fly or leap
To wave its flag
On the friendly bough
Ah! the fallen leaves
Are not joined on trees
Nor the rose petals
Scattered by the winds
Are gathered in bloom
Though the sun and moon
Be the same
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