Words Like Leaves

Words are like leaves falling in Autumn

slowly upon the air, turning and dipping

gracefully on their curves and edges,

somewhat buoyant but falling, falling nonetheless.

Like the trees, we shed these words that

have grown too heavy. Sometimes they

have already lost their meaning by the time

they fall—just cumbersome detritus that must 

be expressed so that we, as trees, might live. 

But sometimes, they are filled with a colorful 

magic that expresses the living soul, that reach 

the ground alive and sparkling. These are the leaves 

which children gather, that lined up one by 

one upon the grass make a poem.

Words like leaves in Autumn fall, and these truths

we speak get tossed around by the breeze. 

You can watch them dance around you

and gather the ones you find most beautiful,

to ponder on later as you sit and simply breathe.