Pages

Thursday, January 12, 2012

LEAFSPAN

                             
                                 A wet black bough on cloudy sky
                                 The pressing sun would tear awry
                                 A single knob formed on the limb
                                 At first a tiny burst of green
                                       then spiral emerald strands were seen
                                       and next appeared a ship-like keel
                                       when finally the leaf revealed

                                 There, side by side, its siblings grew
                                 Their colors changed by light and dew
                                 The breeze encouraged them to play
                                 And as they aged they crossed and waved
                                        then summer sang of light and shade
                                        its music played both night and day
                                        by samba starlight, leaves did sway

                                 As flowers drooped, the fruit would fall
                                 One night the wind brought a vicious chill
                                 Jaundice yellow and fever red
                                 The limbs became a sickness bed
                                         then weakened leaf with its last strength
                                         beseeched the lightened sky's relief
                                         when snowflakes fell, the leaf lost will

                                         floating free down steep mountain streams
                                         in death a solo drifting ferry
                                         through sluices, past rock dams, frail rafts
                                         ___ at last consumed by the vast sea


 © Gay Reiser Cannon * 2012 * All Rights Reserved

13 comments:

  1. quite the journey that leaf took...i felt a ping when it fell at last...though its trip down the stream i hope was more a viking funeral for it...really nice depth beyond the obvious as well...

    ReplyDelete
  2. such beautiful images... loved it.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Fine writing - enjoyed the cycles of life

    ReplyDelete
  4. I did enjoy that - from start to finish you fulfilled the spirit of the form and made it sing.

    ReplyDelete
  5. This is a beautiful ode, Gay! I felt sad at the end. Thanks for the great challenge. I can't wait to hear what you think of mine:

    http://lkkolp.wordpress.com/2012/01/13/ode-to-bees/

    ReplyDelete
  6. Lovely, Gay - vibrant imagery, great form and a gorgeous photo too.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Delicious. Just that. Lovely images and gorgeous writing.

    ReplyDelete
  8. An ode, to me, enters a thing like a chapel to experience its full divinity and beauty and pathos ... So we enter here the one with a leaf on its altar, following the grand cycle of the great year from the vantage of the branch, arising from cold spring and aching to fullness then tearing loose on a cold wind and floating to the sea. By so singing, the one becomes a ringing bell of a symbol of the whole grand parade we're part of. Lovely work. Brendan

    ReplyDelete
  9. letting go can be so difficult...great metaphor here gay and really love your ode post at dVerse...read through the entries but not sure if i'm brave enough to tackle one myself...

    ReplyDelete
  10. it's amazing how sad a story about an empty craft is...and then, oh yeah, it's a metaphor, and i'm just...oh you know...

    this was hard to write, i'm sure

    ReplyDelete
  11. This is an amazing piece of poetry - one which certainly carries all the flavour of the classics, and I note an allusion to Ezra Pound among the lines. An ode is a daunting form to tackle but you have lead the way with your intrepid gift.

    ReplyDelete
  12. Very interesting idea for a poem. I also love the allusion to Pound. K.

    ReplyDelete
  13. I loved this :) path of life, feels a little sad, but hopeful. Lovely poem!

    ReplyDelete