The Leaf | Teen Ink
  1. Home
  2. Poetry
  3. Sonnet
  4. The Leaf

The Leaf

March 19, 2011
By Garnet77 PLATINUM, Sinagpore, Other
More by this author
Garnet77 PLATINUM, Sinagpore, Other
31 articles 6 photos 577 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Everything&#039;s a triangle.&quot; ~ My mother<br /> <br /> &quot;Write what you love, write what you care about, because sometimes, it&#039;s the easiest way to be heard.&quot;

View profile

Fallen, it has, from high up above
It used to be resting on a branch like a dove.
With a step or two, it is at my feet
And I stop to pick up the thin brown leaf.
Brown like the tall, mighty oak trees
That surrounds and shadows me in a canopy
Or the dirt that scatters with each impact
Of wandering people, minds with nature not intact
Faint and withered lines drawn on
Somber, rugose, with the light of hope gone.
It is beautifully shaped, almost a heart,
And I ask it to tell me, when did it start?
Stroking its damaged papery skin
I imagine its insides as if poked by a pin,
With no more humbly working cells
And the cytoplasm breaking to spread like gel.
Small in my fingers, the leaf is frail
And the blow of the wind watched it sail
When, stem grasping, it hung on tight
But, alas, it was made to succumb to the fight
For the weather is changing, the weather is changing!
And the winds have started rearranging.
The leaf has fallen, bent and defeated
While I wonder why its soul has fleeted.
And maybe, I think, it is still alive
If only it could find a way to revive.
A chirp in my mind causes me to halt
Perhaps I could grant it feeling in this drought.
With a crunch of my hands
And its melt into sand,
I wait for a great and powerful breeze
To let the pieces of the leaf run free.

© Justin W., Milford, CT

The author's comments:
I'm not much of a poet, but we had to write a transcendental poem in English class and I happened to really get into writing this particular one, because who knows the mind of a leaf and what happens to it when it falls?
Post a comment
Submit your own

Similar Articles

Previous Next
Poetry
My Fourteen Children
By Nika Allahverdi SILVER
Los Angeles, California
Nika Allahverdi SILVER, Los Angeles, California
8 articles 0 photos 1 comment
View profile
Poetry
I Wish
By greg9381 GOLD
Atlanta, Georgia
greg9381 GOLD, Atlanta, Georgia
12 articles 1 photo 50 comments
View profile
Poetry
"Where I'm From"
By CiaoB3lLa GOLD
North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
CiaoB3lLa GOLD, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
11 articles 0 photos 0 comments
View profile
Poetry
time goes by
By cheywan♥♥ DIAMOND
Fritch, Texas
cheywan♥♥ DIAMOND, Fritch, Texas
50 articles 9 photos 24 comments

Favorite Quote:
walking forward is an neverending challenge!! ):

View profile
Poetry
High school
By hannahbee7 DIAMOND
Boca Raton, Florida
hannahbee7 DIAMOND, Boca Raton, Florida
67 articles 1 photo 65 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;You know you&rsquo;re a writer if your friend tells you a heartbreaking story and your first reaction is &ndash; wow, that would make an incredible plot for a novel. You know you&rsquo;re a smart writer if you manage to keep that reaction to yourself.&quot;

View profile
Poetry
The Dance
By isabelc1011 SILVER
Chagrin Falls, Ohio
isabelc1011 SILVER, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
7 articles 0 photos 0 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Though much is taken, much abides; and though we are not now that strength which in old days moved earth and heaven; that which we are, we are; one equal temper of heroic hearts, made weak by time and fate, but strong in will to strive, to seek, to find, and not to yield.&quot; -Lord Alfred Tennyson

View profile

JOIN THE DISCUSSION

This article has 9 comments.

Garnet77 PLATINUM said...
on Jul. 21 2011 at 12:38 am
Garnet77 PLATINUM, Sinagpore, Other
31 articles 6 photos 577 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Everything&#039;s a triangle.&quot; ~ My mother<br /> <br /> &quot;Write what you love, write what you care about, because sometimes, it&#039;s the easiest way to be heard.&quot;

View profile
Thanks. Don't worry, it's not too cheesy. I guess. :) Thanks for the comment. 
DaylightDarkness SILVER said...
on Jul. 20 2011 at 6:26 pm
DaylightDarkness SILVER, Littleton, Colorado
9 articles 0 photos 102 comments

Favorite Quote:
Everyone&#039;s crazy. You know why? We all want to be normal. Well, we cant define normal, and, the people you can point at and say, well isn&#039;t he/she normal are rare. Doesnt that kind of defeat the pupose of normal? -My Friend

View profile

Could've fooled me Garnet (cheesy warning) you could be a poet and not know it... (wow, that was a lot worse than it sounded in my head...) Anyway.... I liked it a lot. It flowed, you had some nice rhymes- and it didn't feel too formal, or forced, which is the killer of poems. so, great job!

 

Garnet77 PLATINUM said...
on Jul. 20 2011 at 5:22 pm
Garnet77 PLATINUM, Sinagpore, Other
31 articles 6 photos 577 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Everything&#039;s a triangle.&quot; ~ My mother<br /> <br /> &quot;Write what you love, write what you care about, because sometimes, it&#039;s the easiest way to be heard.&quot;

View profile
I'm glad you liked it. Thanks :)
Shayna121 GOLD said...
on Jul. 20 2011 at 3:45 pm
Shayna121 GOLD, Port Charlotte, Florida
12 articles 0 photos 35 comments

Favorite Quote:
I am the master of my fate and the captain of my soul.

View profile
Really good! I loved the flow, I loved the poem...nice job!
Zinaidia SILVER said...
on Jul. 7 2011 at 8:37 pm
Zinaidia SILVER, Moreno Valley, California
8 articles 3 photos 78 comments

Favorite Quote:
\\\&quot;Whatever you are, be a good one.\\\&quot;

View profile
Wow. This poem is just soaking with amazing-ness. Since it is bunched together it is a little harder to read, but other than that, great job!
Garnet77 PLATINUM said...
on Jun. 24 2011 at 11:04 am
Garnet77 PLATINUM, Sinagpore, Other
31 articles 6 photos 577 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Everything&#039;s a triangle.&quot; ~ My mother<br /> <br /> &quot;Write what you love, write what you care about, because sometimes, it&#039;s the easiest way to be heard.&quot;

View profile
Thanks! :)
NinjaGirl BRONZE said...
on Jun. 24 2011 at 3:11 am
NinjaGirl BRONZE, Valley City, North Dakota
1 article 0 photos 202 comments

Favorite Quote:
The only thing holding us back in life is our desire to stay where we are and not venture further.<br /> ~Some random person on the Internet :P

View profile
For being "not much of a poet," this is actually really good :) Great job!
Garnet77 PLATINUM said...
on Jun. 17 2011 at 1:29 am
Garnet77 PLATINUM, Sinagpore, Other
31 articles 6 photos 577 comments

Favorite Quote:
&quot;Everything&#039;s a triangle.&quot; ~ My mother<br /> <br /> &quot;Write what you love, write what you care about, because sometimes, it&#039;s the easiest way to be heard.&quot;

View profile
Oh yeah? Well thank you! I wasn't sure if it was good or not, but I'm glad you liked it. :)
austenite GOLD said...
on Jun. 16 2011 at 7:56 pm
austenite GOLD, River Falls, Wisconsin
13 articles 0 photos 177 comments

Favorite Quote:
...one word from you will silence me forever. If, however, your feelings have changed, I will have to tell you: you have bewitched me, body and soul, and I love....I love...I love you. I never wish to be parted from you from this day on. -Mr. Darcy

View profile
Wow! Just, wow. I love this so much! Is it sad that I felt compassion for a leaf? :) Beautifully written. Bravo.