Some Functions of a Leaf

To whisper. To applaud the wind
and hide the Hermit thrush;
To catch the light
and work the humble spell of photosynthesis
(excuse me sir, if I might have one word)
by which it's changed to wood.
To wait
willing to feed

and be food.

To die with style:
as the tree retreats inside itself,
shutting off the valves at its
extremities

to starve in tchnicolour, then
having served two hours in a children's leaf pile, slowly
stir its vitamins into the earth.

to be the artist of morality.

[Don MacKay in "Field Marks"]




On June 15 2007 2 Views

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