Leaf Fall
by Michael R. Burch

Whatever winds encountered soon resolved
to swirling fragments, till chaotic heaps
of leaves lay pulsing by the backyard wall.
In lieu of rakes, our fingers sorted each
dry leaf into its place and built a high,
soft bastion against earth's gravitron—
a patchwork quilt, a trampoline, a bright
impediment to fling ourselves upon.

And nothing in our laughter as we fell
into those leaves was like the autumn's cry
of also falling. Nothing meant to die
could be so bright as we, so colorful—
clad in our plaids, oblivious to pain
we'd feel today, should we leaf-fall again.

Originally published by The Neovictorian/Cochlea. Keywords/Tags: Fall, autumn, leaf, leaves, swirling heaps, piles, wind, rakes, laughter, backyard, play, playing, falling, children, bright, colorful, plaids

Lone leaf hangs onto the branch of a tree on the cliff side,
Nods at the breaking waves below.
The hustle of the wind,
Cause the autumn leaf to fall,
Twisting and turning through the rough air,
Like a butterfly in flight.
Down, down it flutters,
Whispering, singing exhausted.
The diver saw the pain and beauty in the leaf,
Caught it in mid air,
And both shimmered down onto the waves.
Even the smallest leaf must face its destiny,
Saved by the battering waves,
It was buried in the diver's garden.
2/3/2020

The home is under
           the leafy tree.
The graveyard too
         is not far to see!

It’s not that every leaf must finally fall,
it’s just that we can never catch them all.

Originally published by The Neovictorian/Cochlea, this epigram has since been translated into Russian, Macedonian, Turkish, Arabic and Romanian.

Native American Prayer
loose translation/interpretation by Michael R. Burch

Help us learn the lessons you have left us
in every leaf and rock.

Originally published by The HyperTexts

It shouldn't be
          I,
        But us...

It shouldn't be
         We,
But all...

It shouldn't be the way it is,
            but all of us, we, I everyone

needs to wake up to the fact
were a people not a us, them.

I hope one day we realise
  that a tree cant grow branches if there
aren't roots to  hold it together,

                                               we're all the leaf's.