LEAVES

by Irene Sipos

Oh little girl when you

were my little girl for real

we would go and gather

armfuls of leaves, maples

especially, setting flame

to sidewalks all around us, how

could we resist? We captured them

and brought them home to iron

and press between layers of crinkly

waxed paper to scatter on tables

and tape on windows. Soon they would

crumble and disappear as you, darling, are
not with me today so I must collect yellow,

orange and red beauties to place in an envelope

addressed to you three thousand miles away.

"Jungle Fern" by Wendy Caldwell Maloney. Watercolor.