Leaves of Life

Aren’t we the leaves in the towering tree of life
Giving it a diadem with the green grace of foliage. 
Are we not the pages of a tome or text of cryptic script
Unable to decipher what scribbles are scrawled on it
With every page bringing unexpected twists and turns.

As I turn the leaves of my life one by one
I see my childhood in great sheen and shimmer,
Like the tender sprouts of spring's splendor
Fluttering and flitting in whispering wind.

In scorching summer sun, got crumpled and curled
At times, twirled and swirled with the needle pricks of rain.
Yet I survived and held hard on to the mother tree,
Weaving dusky dreams even through the bleakest nights
And lifting my glistening gaze to unimaginable heights. 

In those times, how I wished to catch the crimson sun
And my mind longed to chase the sudden spark
Never knowing, the faster the light flares into brilliance,
The quicker it is to slide and slip away n' die out as a flash.

When autumn came, strangely I turned wise and wizened
My tenacious attempt to cling on and clutch seemed in vain
One by one as the leaves of autumn drop down
And litter the roads and pathways to be trampled over
I see 'the foliage of farewell' and the one that awaits me
I know well, I too will soon fall and fade and lie lifeless
In the sodden soil or sand, defenceless and desolate.

My dream was never to drift drowsy downstream
But to soar high into the seamless sky like a bird on wings

In the spring of life, love was such a sweet sensation
But now it is watered with saline tears and silent sobs.
Most of my dreams have flown away fluttering like autumn leaves
Those that I once held fast now stay distant as stars of the sky
Sleep, once a visitor who barged in at short notice,
Has become a fading fugitive, giving me dreadful nights.

Yet I turn the pages of my life with anticipation
Until I tremble at the edge of time and tumble down
As the last lingering leaf from the tree of life- 

Then I will tell myself- 'neither dusk nor dawn can delude me’.

I am not in dark despair, but in calm contentment,
For I have 
                 Lived
                            Loved
                                   and 
                                         Dreamed

analogyautumnlifeseasonsfree verse

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Joseph P. DiMino

September 22, 2026 at 9:45 PM

"Then I will tell myself- 'neither dusk nor dawn can delude me’. I am not in dark despair, but in calm contentment, For I have Lived Loved and Dreamed" -- Wow! Great ending -- or beginning, the believer in heaven that you are. Good luck in contest. A lot of splendid entries -- would not want to be judging this one.