The Beauty in a Leaf

/ Ken Gierke / rivrvlogr

The Beauty in a Leaf

A falling leaf does not spoil the scene,
nor tarnish the earth upon which it falls.
Whether feeding the roots which gave it life
or pressed within the pages of a book,
carried within it is the heart of the tree, and its beauty.

The prompt from Lillian for Quadrille Monday at dVerse is to use the word “spoil” in a quadrille, a 44-word poem of no set meter or rhyme.

64 thoughts on “The Beauty in a Leaf”

  1. Love this take on the prompt. When my children were young (they are 44 and 42 now) I always enjoyed leaf collecting with them — and then pressing them or making a book of leaves 🙂 Ah….thanks for the memories today! 🙂

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    • Mine go into a compost pile. It’s a weeks-long process with different trees dropping at different times. Otherwise they would be thick enough to kill the grass. I don’t mind. It’s good exercise and it gives me time (hours!) to contemplate.

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      • It is good to have contemplation time. I used to have that when I sat out to watch the birds. Since I was attacked by a pack of dogs, I don’t sit out there anymore. Maybe some day I will be able to again, but not right now.

        Our trees don’t usually drop their leaves until the spring, when the new leaves push the old ones out. But, this year, some have even changed to fall colors and fallen from the trees. It is wonderful to see!

        We have a yard full of weeds instead of grass, so I’m not worried about killing it. Weeds seem to live forever. haha The only ones I can’t seem to grow successfully in this yard are dandelions. Our neighbors have tons of them each year.

        Have a blessed week.

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        • What a terrible experience! The birds will wait for you, I’m sure.
          My yard is mostly hillside with little topsoil, and I’ve been battling it for years – planting and replanting, only to see it wash out before it can root well. A friend of mine jokes, calling me Sisyphus – except that I’m trying to roll a grass seed uphill instead of a rock.

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        • Yes and no. It’s already done in two places. Any more would make mowing difficult to impossible. A good part of it is in shade most of the time, hampering growth, but rain from the uphill neighbor will actually wear away the soil once the grass starts to thin. I had some luck with reseeding in September, probably due to the drought we experienced until the end of October. (plenty of watering on my part).

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  4. Being a big fan of trees, leaves and autumn, I love this poem, Ken! Our garden is currently swirling with leaves. When others are raking and stuffing leaves into bags. I leave them where they are. I also used to collect leaves with my daughter when she was little and look forward to doing the same with my little grandson.

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    • Thank you, Kim.
      Raking over several weeks is a must for my yard. With 20 of my trees (half of them) in the open area of the yard, the dropped leaves would smother the grass. It’s good exercise, and it doesn’t keep me from appreciating the trees.

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  5. I like the quietness in this poem, Ken. Trees getting on with what trees do, no fuss, just providing oxygen for the rest of the planet. I don’t have a garden or grass, but lots of trees and meadow. The leaves lie where they land. I like it that way.

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  11. At the place I lived in the city for 25 years, the front and back yards, as well as the back lot, was one stand of oak trees. It was a lot of raking but I never begrudged the trees; instead considered myself a steward. Since 2011 I live in a yard of willows, black locust, 4 fruit trees, and a ginkgo. The leaves of these trees break down quickly so no raking is necessary. If you ask me if I could have brought those oak trees with me, the answer would be a resounding yes. To see your tribute to the oaks touches my heart ❤

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    • Moving from Buffalo to Missouri meant leaving maples behind, and I miss them. Moving here informed me that I’m extremely allergic to white oak pollen. Two springs of the six I’ve been in this house were so bad that the deck turned yellow. The other years I didn’t really suffer.

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  25. Love It! Was traveling up north yesterday…it was so windy leaves were smacking the windshield so hard it sounded like rocks! Then every once in a while one would be twirling down in front of me…so gently.
    Hope you are well and that the holiday season finds you full of creative energy!

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