The Leaf

 “The Leaf by Maisie Aletha Smikle

Am sometimes green
Am sometimes yellow
Am sometimes brown
And sometimes black

I shade the Amazon
I cushion the ground
I feed hungry mouths
And feed the soil

Am kind always giving
Never asking anything in return
I retain dew to keep you cool
I excrete oxygen so you may breathe

I give
I only give
I am a giver
A tree with all its branches is naked without me

I clothe the tree to hide its shame
In shades of green
In shades of yellow
And many shades in between

In Spring I bloom
In Summer am scorch
In Winter I freeze
In the Fall I fall to crown the surface of the ground

My aim is to please
I bloom to give you joy
Am scorched so that I may fall
To moisten the soil and make it fertile

To cushion the ground
For another round
Always giving
Never taking

Tree branches unclothe
Naked without their leaves
Bare ground exposed
Without unfallen leaves

Compelling you to leave
Leaves sustain and leaves maintain
Leaves leave you living
Always giving while taking nothing”

― Maisie Aletha Smikle