Raking Leaves by the School

Dear leaves,

I’ve come to gather you

I’m not concerned about the grass beneath,

I don’t need tidy strips of even green

It’s you I’m here for

I had hesitated

because I love how 

when you fall

you carpet swaths of ground with brilliant red

I didn’t want to take the feast away from others

But I know the crew will come 

with leaf blowers

and mulching mowers —

You’ll be gone anyway,

They won’t mind my intervention

So I rake you up

and then I gather you with my hands

admiring your prodigious flame

thanking you

for the earth gift

I’ll bring you to bestow

upon my garden.

©Wendy Mulhern

October 6, 2014