A Cluster of Leaves
Traveling 15 I saw a cluster of leaves,
It looked like a man hanging.
I quickly dismissed this notion,
The pain was not welcome,
The reality was ignored.
Instead, at a second pass I saw,
An old football uniform;
One worn by a child of the 70’s…
This uniform was not soiled by time,
It was still intact, still vibrant with youth.
It held the weather of December, 1972.
It was cold, yet it had warmth that would melt a glacier,
A glacier of time that was mountainous…
They say not to look back,
Still it is the past that has molded us,
A cluster of leaves has this power,
The power to stir up these memories;
Memories of the snow, of shoulder pads…
A cluster of leaves, a hanging football uniform…
© Joseph James
8/14/12
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