Fallen Leaves Behind
I cannot grieve
Not this day at least
For a single fallen leaf
Not even for the heaps
The banks and the
Clusters of them scattered
Whole constellations
Of them mind
Now well and truly met
Those dead or drowning
Caught in the swirl
Of swollen streams
Drifting or dried
And frayed at their edges
Yet waiting to be made art
Fossilized
Or food for worms
It no longer matters, does it
Primary school classrooms
This time of year
Are always full of them
For they are now
Once more together, gathered
Where they now belong, in gutters ..