Gone Forever

Here I sit amongst the long grasses and the reed, in a solitary place, where my breath is freed, on an Indian Summer's evening on the lake bed, autumn has come, yet the warmth has not fled. Blazing orange skies, are mirrored to reflect, I cannot imagine a scene being any more perfect, as I looked up, an unfallen leaf caught my gaze, spotlighted in the sun's last golden rays. I noticed this crimson leaf as it began to wave, the end of a short life that I could not save, then swept away suddenly by the wind's rake, and ripples formed as it landed on the still lake. The leaf was carried away and my eyes followed, then drowned by the water's surface and swallowed, windy fingertips tugged it from the branch to sever, existing once, like today, and then was gone forever. Note - This was my original idea for the poem "The leaf", but it was revised for a contest. I just wanted to post both versions of the poem.