A Leaf's Journey Downstream

Flowing downstream, over the well washed stones The water carries the newly fallen leaves Beautifully corroded in colors of yellow, red, and brown Belonging to the stream and to the earthen bliss The remnants of the mighty tree’s glorious statement Offering its only poignant ways of life’s given theories Those of the Autumn desires to bring with it deliverance That of being in reality of one’s own self, versus sending Pieces of nothing, which the tree never harbors truthfully In any avenue of the streams desires to wash ashore The banks of its only pebbles and stones which keep Some of the leaves as souvenirs, reminders of times And days which the Earth brought weather gracefully To its own self metered, sun bathed, water splashed Equally spaced sounds of a trickle, downwards it flows And holding a form of what once was a majestic Plant, stronger than most of the Earthly sages Lovelier is its descending powers of light emitting colors Washed with Earth mud, and dirt, and the life giving Water that supply’s all living things with support In which to live, Autumn carries much delight in its dance Of the married leaves, those that grow to become The great ones, those that make it to full yellow Or to extreme red, or even to complete orange These wild leaves, hold a true, non-self-centered degree Of existence, blending in with all other leaves of gold Bringing about it a masterpiece of joyous sounds From the smells of the insect markings, to the raindrops That leave their own scent, blessing in its own sense Lifting higher than the wind, when blown skyward Then laying perfectly on the water, to be moved down The stream, to find the pile of leaves packed at a log All dressing up to be their best in appearance for anyone Who happens to find their way to this happy spot Where the water meets the log, and the leaves congest Just like love flowing in the Fall, accepting its target And resting place to pledge its devotion to its harbor Where all the leaves of multicolor to congregate and hear Their words beaming true and feeling their veins please One another in a blessing of the leaves, on an Autumn day Autumn Colors Contest 20 September 2017