The leaves are leaving the branches
Those branches, reaching for the sky
Are the most vulnerable
There is less shelter at the extremities
We have lost the protection
Of the majority who shield us
The two trunks, of the tallest trees
Shadow and support each other
I focus on the autumnal leaf
Orange, and peach, and bronze, and green
Will it still be there tomorrow
Is each single leaf aware of the danger
If I take it from its present place
And press it between the pages of a book
Will I have saved anything
Or will I have lost all that I already had
Does the leaf hear the hum
Or the buzz of the distant machines
Which pierce through my headphones
And unsettle my once steady balance
Fortunately, up next is a mindful moment
Where first I stand on my right leg
And then change-over to my left leg
Both of which produce a sense of achievement
