“October” by Robert Frost [w/ Audio]

O hushed October morning mild,
Thy leaves have ripened to the fall;
Tomorrow's wind, if it be wild,
Should waste them all.
The crows above the forest call;
Tomorrow they may form and go.
O hushed October morning mild,
Begin the hours of this day slow.
Make the day seem to us less brief.
Hearts not averse to being beguiled,
Beguile us in the way you know.
Release one leaf at break of day;
At noon release another leaf;
One from our trees, one far away.
Retard the sun with gentle mist;
Enchant the land with amethyst.
Slow, slow!
For the grapes' sake, if they were all,
Whose leaves already are burnt with frost,
Whose clustered fruit must else be lost --
For the grapes' sake along the wall.

Canopy [Haiku]

rain tree canopy
contains city’s secrets
‘til the leaf drop.

Tropic Confusion [Haiku]

branches: bloom-laden
but devoid of leaves:
tropic confusion.

Beyond Eye & Mind [Kyōka]

a bare tree,
beside the stream,
sent leaves to the sea:
how far did they get?
"beyond eye & mind."

To the Sea [Haiku]

a leaf speeds over
the falls; is trapped below,...
bobs to the surface.

“Gathering Leaves” by Robert Frost [w/ Audio]

Spades take up leaves
No better than spoons,
And bags full of leaves
Are light as balloons.

I make a great noise
Of rustling all day
Like rabbit and deer
Running away.

But the mountains I raise
Elude my embrace,
Flowing over my arms
And into my face.

I may load and unload
Again and again
Till I fill the whole shed,
And what have I then?

Next to nothing for weight,
And since they grew duller
From contact with the earth,
Next to nothing for color.

Next to nothing for use,
But a crop is a crop,
And who's to say where
The harvest shall stop?

Shadow Play [Haiku]

a butterfly
plays with shape & shadow
on a sunlit leaf.

Longanimity [Haiku]

one last leaf,
its longanimity great,
falls -- unseen.

Ordered Chaos [Haiku]

a veiny leaf
is at once orderly and
fingerprint unique.

Survivors [Haiku]

with winter at hand,
the last crisp leaves yield
only to stout gales.