Leaf Ladies

by Solveig Paulson Russell

I sat very still under a tree,

Still, oh, as still as a person could be.

And I heard the leaves turning this way and that,

Bright-hooded ladies in gentle chitchat.

“We’ll be leaving,” they said, “anytime now.

Last night there was frost on the tips of each bough.

We’ll be leaving quite soon.” And oh, it was true,

For while I sat there a breeze passed through,

And the little leaf ladies came waving good-bye

And settled to earth with a brief autumn sigh.