I've broken my left collarbone. That's my third broken collarbone in seven years. All three were sports-related, and all have a common cause: going too fast. Whether its a bicycle or a snowboard, it seems I haven't learned my lesson yet. Being considered less productive and an insurance liability, my job has unceremoniously decided to sit me at home until further notice. It should only be a few weeks.
Trying to set my course for the next two weeks at home, writing seems to be a good way to pass the time. I haven't done much lately, preferring to spend my time preparing for this year's garden, and breaking bones. I've spent some of today going through my hard drive, and all the files I've saved over the years. The earliest is a .wav file from November 1996. I also have a poem I wrote in 1997, my last year of owning/operating "Lighthouse Windows and Gutters".
I was cleaning out gutters in the early winter of '97, behind someone's house. Don't remember which customer, but the fenced-in pool and 2.5 story backside of the house are clear. Also clear are the trees bordering the backyard, bare and lifeless, except for a solitary leaf that hadn't given it up yet. Somehow, this amazed me. So much, in fact, the idea for the poem materialized in my head. I wrote most of it on the drive home. The save date on my harddrive is January 16, 1998, so I'll go with that as the official date.
The Last Leaf
I saw the last leaf fall today
Incredible but true
So silently it drifted down
Its fate long overdue.
Well, I could scarce believe my eyes
What miracle was spent
For me to own this privilege
And see this grand event
Twas long ago in seasons past
I very well remember
When all its family had fallen
Late into December
A very few refused to fall
And hung so stubbornly
To barren branches reaching out
From one peculiar tree
Then came the wind and snow and ice
The brunt of winter's force
Was cast upon those stubborn leaves
As nature took its course
And one by one, they all gave in
Their strength was no more found
Their grip was loosed, they joined the rest
Decaying on the ground.
Yet this one leaf had clung to life
Determined not to die
Its grip was fast and sure and strong
Its resolution high
I've often stood with wondrous awe
Beholding nature's sights
And here, this little leaf survived
Through snowy days and nights.
Well, if a little leaf can make
A fool of nature's ways
Then surely I can rise above
The cards that nature plays
So with my newfound strength I live
Much like the leaf before
And though our battles differ much
We share a common war
Yet from the rules of life and death
This leaf could not depart
Eventually the hand of death
Would still its beating heart.
I saw the last leaf fall today
Its wonders, still, I sing
For with its help, I live anew
On this first day of Spring.
