This is part of a new series of ten poems, where each one is going to be sparked by an exact quote from someone I know. The quote is something they wrote, said, shouted or whispered. It then moves beyond the quote and I make up my own story or add my own thoughts. Similarities to people real or imagined are real or imagined.
"I'm getting lost in the leaves today."
I smirked, as if nature's paint brush was scrubbing my cheeks.
I walked in a blue jacket, in the sun and took in the red and gold
the yellow the brown
the mint.
"Oh!" There's a dead rat in the grass
his eye is open,
I don't know if he's breathing or not.
I know someone will have to pick him up
with a shovel.
I walk on.
I can't shed a tear now.
I'm romanticizing
the colors of life.
Empathy is useless right now.
It's pragmatic, and comforting, more like a towel
to wrap around my head
after a shower.
I'm not here to judge,
I am here to dance.
Lost in the leaves
smelling the wonder
of Fall.