I returned again and again
to the one red leaf
in a sea of brown.

And, oh, a monarch’s wing-
stained glass
framed in speckled black-
lay near the rosy leaf.

And there,
a cellophane wing of a dragonfly
reflecting gray sunlight
against green grass.

(“head down, feet extended,
these sociable birds delight
in feeding aloft,
and 20 or 30 of them
wheeling overhead
can make dragonfly wings fall like confetti…
as for landing on the ground,
a star would be more likely
to fall to earth
than a Mississippi kite.”)

There are no other red leaves in the yard;
I've seen no monarchs,
no dragonflies
in this November air.
The kites have flown.

Just scattered in the grass,
like paper markers
fallen from a closed book,
reminders
of where a tale left off...




quote from
Book of North American Birds
Reader’s Digest