Have you ever stopped to watch as a single leaf breaks free from the branch and drifts on the breeze? Each year, I watch as the leaves change to the brilliant colours of autumn, then flutter through the air when the breeze blows through the branches.  I love the autumn colours and the musty smell of the leaves as they crunch under my feet.  These things remind me of my childhood, and the fun I have had with my own children, playing and jumping in piles of leaves.  In this season I marvel at the beauty around me, noticing that even as the trees shed their leaves, they are giving us a gift….   

The Leaf
By Krista Longeway

Slowly, sunny Summer days melt
Into the cool evenings of Autumn,
Turning all that was once green
To crimson and gold upon the branch.
The little leaf waits eagerly. 
Then, when she is ready,
She catches the tail of the wind
And is whisked from the safety of the tree.
The little leaf is lifted into the air
Turning this way, then that,
She flutters to the ground.
Joining her friends, she waits
For the frost to come.