(I) The leaf

To hear a leaf
Fall
It is not
The space around it
Which must be quiet
But your mind

A quiet mind
Begets
A special state
Of awareness

How to quiet
The mind?
Listen
To the body

The body shares
Earthly intelligence
The mind
So often
Rejects

To hear a leaf
Fall
Share a secret

Mine?
I'm afraid
To be touched

Yet
I allowed
You all
To touch me
That day
In the woods

I watched a leaf
Fall
And I saw
Its fearlessness

For what leaf
Is concerned
With its appearance

What leaf
Is concerned
With its past

What leaf
Is concerned
With its future

What leaf
Is concerned
With what the other leaves
Are doing
Or have done
Or will do
With where the other leaves
Are going
Or have gone
Or will go

I watched a leaf
Fall
And I sensed
Its euphoria
Wind drunk
But graceful still

Its return to Earth
Nearly defying gravity
With its skips and hops

Returning gently
to Mother
Waiting silently
Equally unafraid
Of an undisturbed rest
The weight of rain
And snow
Or an earthbound journey
Down a river
On a shoe

I watched a leaf
Fall
And I opened my heart
To it
And I opened
My heart
To you