Notes About The Poem

A Leaf in the Woods Contest 

Sponsor: Craig Cornish 

A Leaf in the Woods

I'd rather fall at the hands of nature—
endure the whiplash from changing seasons,
be ransacked in storms erasing verdure
but not by crude loggers or their reasons. 
In time to come, I might be metallic, 
slip from imagination, unreal!
What is wood, this leaf, but an italic?
Who will append me to the holy grail,
will to elegize my lost symmetry?
Today has already begun with breeze
lilting foliage; fluttered melody, 
transporting berries, bewitching degrees. 
A caterpillar licks my face away,
and a worm is canceled by a blue jay.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2026

Poem

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Smith  Avatar
August 19, 2026 at 3:25 AM
I like this slightly whimsical write on the whys and wherefores of the life of a leaf.
Layne Avatar
August 19, 2026 at 9:16 AM
Thanks, Alison. Sonnets can be lovely to read but I always get stuck on the metre. It's a work in progress but it was nice to practice a bit of verstehen with a leaf.
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