The Leaf

I saw this solitary leaf suspended in the air like a badly judged remark in a bar room. It was supposed to fall to the ground like all the others as the season dictates. But it didn't seem to want that. It wanted a final tilt at life. There was something about the leaf that spooked me at first. It seemed to portend the end of the world. But when I touched it gently it was friendly. It was heedless to the wind and it stayed and it stayed. I thought about taking it home and letting it live in a matchbox in my kitchen. But I don't think I'm ready for that kind of responsibility.