The Earth's Book Of Leaves (Poetry)

The pages are brown
grown crisp and dried by
autumn’s winds that turn
them briskly and learn
all summer’s secrets

Each leaf contains its
own unique code and
tells the history
of its unfurling
till the day it fell

Every fine-drawn vein
records in detail
days of sun and rain
nights under the moon
the plagues of insects

Written on both sides
curled thin as paper
damped by the season
tales impress the soil
read over again

As twilight deepens
and woodlands rustle
its ancient archives
absorb more chapters
for referencing