Somebody told me I should put some of my poetry on this thing so I picked my shortest one, just to test it out ;)
THE STORY OF THE LEAVES
Green leaf, turning
yellow
Do you have any last
words to say?
I suppose even if you
did
The wind would carry
them away
Your beauty promises
barrenness
And your brightness
impending doom
Do you despise the
blossoms – pink and white
That in your place
will bloom?
Brown leaf, breathing
shallow
I’ll not cry over your
demise
Though transience is
moving
The pain we shared has
made me wise
Explanation
This poem is about change and the transition.
The green leaf turning yellow represents the approach of a new season. The
outgoing season may wish to persist in speaking into your life without
recognising that it is about to speak it’s last. However, the winds of change
will carry even its last words as the new thing sweeps in.
Although the vibrant colours of the autumn
leaves are beautiful, they “promise” the barrenness of winter, which is to
follow. Autumn is a transitory season and the stark contrast between the season
preceding it and the one succeeding it, creates a sense of loss and barrenness,
not unlike winter itself. Even if the preceding season was unpleasant, change
still brings with it a sense of loss and apprehension about the unknown.
The autumn leaves are just as beautiful as the
blossoms, “pink and white,” but the difference is that the blossoms promise new
life while the leaves are the symptom of an end. I wonder if the leaves are
satisfied with their purpose or whether they envy their counterpart. I wonder
if I am satisfied with their
part, and can appreciate the function of both, or whether I despise certain
season of my life even though they are necessary.
The brown leaf obviously represents the end of
a season, which again conjures feelings of loss and the unfamiliarity
associated with change. Though I may want to “cry” over the closure of one
season of my life, the pain of that season and the lessons I have learned from
the very process of transition has taught me that change is a necessary and natural
part of life.
