Explaining to a Leaf (softly sad)

Free Verse

Explaining to a Leaf

~ loneliness ~

Winds stalk me,

leaves tremble at my approach …

they are frightened

of the cold that follows.

In hushed, rustling whispers,

as I pass, they ask,

“Why is it you are not afraid?”

Un-answering, my feet march on,

trodding on their fallen brethren,

lovers, sisters, and friends ...

why bother with answers.

Would they understand?

How do you explain to a shivering leaf

that the cold can’t be as bad

as waking up tomorrow,

finding it’s become

as lonely today as every day

is going to be,

what it’s like

finding the same empty bed,

with the same lone hair

stretched out across your pillow;

a single-stranded ghost,

the constant reminder

that all too often,

hearts,

like seasons …

share a kinship of change?

Author's Note

Picture. Compliments of Google images.

Please, feel free to offer constructive criticism and/or well-meant comments. : )

Reviews

[T.S. Ulmus]

Constructive criticism!? How could I possibly dare? This is a masterpiece. In my first read through this piece I was amazed at every turn. You strike me as a man that wouldn't appreciate pure fawning praise but I cannot come up with anything but praise. A master stroke of a true artist.

[Richard🖌]

Thank you most gratefully, Syr TS 🌿

I can conceive of nothing more graciously humbling or genuinely rewarding than to receive such appreciative sincerity, praise, and accolades for one of my earnest Free Verse pieces.
Coming from a fellow-poet so highly accomplished, admired, and respected, as yourself, I am amply assured my hopeful efforts have proven worthwhile.

Well, a little fawning never hurt a thing. ; )
Bountifully overjoyed … your grateful friend ⁓ Richard 🍃

[Moonie]

The title and the picture of the lone, slightly-withered leaf drew me in. I think it is difficult to explain loneliness to anyone, let alone someone from a separate species, phyllum and kingdom.
You impart a personality to the leaves, complete with a backstory of having lost their "fallen brethren,
lovers, sisters, and friends". They are familiar with loss, and with the winter which devours all, and yet can't fathom how the loss of a loved one would turn someone completely numb. I really loved the imagery of the single strand of hair stretching across the pillow. Just like the leaves, so many other inanimate things can remind us of our loneliness.

[Richard🖌]

A beautiful review, Dear Poetess_________ (I wish I knew your name).
Few, if any, grasp the true essence of this rather poignant piece with the compassionate depth You, obviously, have, and it is such a distinctly conscious sharing as yours that gratifies my humble efforts to write for and relate with my readers, in hopes of touching and pleasing.

In doing so, You've in turn touched Me … for which I thank you most warmly and gratefully! ⁓ Richard 🍃

[Einstein Noodle]

title hooked me ...lots of meditative qualities to it ..great pic ..i see a respectful sensitivity in it ..love the unanswering feet ..marching on .. lonliness over time can bring such numbness we simply can't feel anything ... your theme runs throughout (who would expect anything less;) ... i think the best you saved for last .. the same lone hair ... a ghost strand ... whew! i feel the punch .. oh so lonely! ... and i like that your closing ties me to Mother Nature ... seasons .. come and go .. as will such loneliness in time ... a full course sir! now for some coffee ;)
E.

[Richard🖌]

It is a pleasure to share with you, My Friend.
There is nothing more rewarding than being appreciated, acknowledged, and praised by a talented and knowing fellow poet.

It's a hot mug-o-tea for me this morning.
"Happy Fourth, Gene!" ⁓ Richard 🇺🇸

[Einstein Noodle]

i should drink more tea ... its the truth .. my mother in law outlived her death by about 9 yrs. treating her bodily health drinking tea ... God bless her :) love on ya brother!

[Carola]

wow !!!
yours is the first 'free verse' i could actually understand, 'cos each verse's lines relate to each other.
lovely flowing words, emotions & mental pictures. 👍

all other free verse poems i've read to date seem to be a collection of unrelated words in juxtaposition to each other which makes no sense to me.

cheerio carola

[Richard🖌]

Ah, Carola! 🌸
How truly lovely you are!
And, what sweetly inspiring things to say to a hopeful, susceptible bard … I'll never forget that mine was your first. ; )
Anyone ever tell you your reviews make the heart and mind sing … well, they do, and I appreciate You.

Thank you most warmly, Dear Lady-Poet! ⁓ Richard 🍃

[John Alexander McFadyen]

Lonliness is the epic here and the contagion affecting so many as we live longer and as more folk reach the parting of ways. In this the descriptive of the path of the protagonist as he walks through the leaves and struggles with the philosophical issue of explaining such feelings to a mere piece of vegitation, is a lonesome march. The pathos is spread as the empty bed is laid before the reader like an open page. A sad but meaningful write.

[Richard🖌]

My most grateful thanks to you, My Friend, for gifting this poignant little Free Verse your deeply abiding understanding and favorable recognition.

It is for a review such as yours I write and share in hopes of receiving.
Many blessings, John, and a beautiful upcoming weekend to ya! ⁓ Richard 🍃

[Shandra Sun]

Thank you so much for inviting me to read this jewel. I feel butterflies in my heart, fluttering with joy. I mean it! So wonderful that I can't find the good words to tell you. I red it aloud, as I often do when a poem speaks to my spirit. The sound of the words is still echoing in the air, surrounding me with this ephemeral connection with you. Let's celebrate changes and welcome the newness of every season. Even when it brings solitude.

[Richard🖌]

Ah, Shandra
I am so very pleased you accepted my invitation. : )

By virtue of the lovely moving depth and gripping essence of your "Sweet Rain", I thought you might appreciate and enjoy sharing this rather soulfully-touching little piece with me.
And, from such stirringly scintillating expressions of sheer wonderment, emotional joy, and warm familiarity, you've assured me of it.

I tip my glass in celebration with your own … KLINK*
Thank you, Shandra, for your most wondrously inspiring, sweet review … hugs to You! ⁓ Richard 🍃

(have you an invite for me?)

[Shandra Sun]

I let you free to choose.

[diamondlioness]

I've never been that big of a fan of poetry in the past but your poem is amazing! I loved every part of it and I hope you continue to do this because I can't wait to see what else you can do! :D

[Richard🖌]

Dear Poetess,
I welcome you warmly.
To receive such disarming sentiments stirs a hopeful bard's spirit; for, to think I may have influenced and warmed your desire for poetry is, indeed, gratifying, to say the least.
That you love anything having to do with me surges brightly though my being, inspiring me to shine and fill my olde pen with stardust-imbued ink.
There are many writing on my pages, in many various forms, you may find favor in, and I sincerely wish you will take a peek; perhaps, begin with "Beside the Pond" or "LIFE'S SONG", or whatever catches your eye.

Thank you ever-so warmly for your magic touch! ⁓ Richard 🍃

[Laurierose]

This piece held mysteries between each line. It's as if we are peeking at a flash of a moment in the speakers life. I LOVE that this tells a story. Crisp visions of autumn enter my mind as I thought of the scurrying leaves. Unfortunately, this tale of loneliness is one I'm very well versed. I understand the inner struggle the speaker is going through. The brisk winds hold no competition to the coldness of solitude. The fresh, daily reminders of being whole taunt memories and daydreams. I love how the second half of this piece was a tumultuous question. Almost rhetorical. I enjoyed this, Richard. Great read.

[Richard🖌]

Wonderful, Laurie 🍂
The touch of your words reveal so very much about the essence of your true deeper nature.
It isn't often a reader relates so closely personal with one of my poems, as you have with this one … and, from your shared thoughts, sensations, and emotions, how vividly real I feel it in You.
I love it that you love anything about my poetry, and I love the manner in which you grasp the timbre and moment of this stirring piece.

My most grateful hugs 'n blessings to You, Laurie! ⁓ Richard 🍃

[R.E. Ray]

Nature reminds us we have more in common with other living things than we realize. Life and death surrounds us; the spring daises and the fall roses and trees, life’s continuing cycle, us included. And, the loneliness grips the reader from the first to last line, seeing the lonely man walking in a dying season. All captured brilliantly in this poem.

[Richard🖌]

How true what you say is, Sir Ray 🍂
I completely agree, if one is actually consciousness and awake enough in the ways they can understand and feel it.
To me, beyond the everyday existence of typical human experience, life and death is all there is … ALL is ever in the endless process of evolving, and it's such an enormously powerful realization to constantly know, as I'm rather sure You do.
There is little I enjoy more than blending nature with human nature into my ink.

Thank you most kindly and gratefully, My Friend, for selecting this one to read and share your wise thoughts over … bless your day! ⁓ Richard 🍃

[Richard🖌]

"conscious" of course. : )

[Diabolicalbeard]

I feel like a leaf after reading this poem

[Richard🖌]

Then,
I guess you're frightened, shivering, and don't understand.
Thanks for the read! ⁓ Richard 🍃

[AnnieLou]

There's a peace about this poem that is misleading, a perfect play in my eyes, because when you feel this kind of loneliness is does all but bring you peace. There's also a cold that the words carry and it is emanating from each verse. I can feel the loneliness seeping into me again and it brings about memories of a darker time. The emotions that come from this type of loneliness are so well captured and are conveyed through such beautifully simple language. Well done, sir!

[Richard🖌]

Hi, AnnieLou 🌸
Isn't it amazing how words sometimes open emotion and sensation that actually feels real enough to awaken parts of us we may have thought are settled, or (perhaps) we are convinced we can't feel anymore?
Take loneliness, for instance: Just think of all it encompasses and enfolds in us of yearning, aching, desires, and needs, of how it inspires us to reach out, to open-up, how sweetly vulnerable it makes us, even if we try not to be.
How enthralling it can be to touch upon the page, within the aura of revealing words.

With warmest, most grateful hugs … thank you, AnnieLou! ⁓ Richard 🍃