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AS THE LEAVES FALL
for somebody so far away, you startle me when you seem so close
we smell and breathe
and huff the warm summer air
in this green molten soup I swim for clearings
and leap above the eroded cliffs looking
for you.
You are so far away, yet you startle me
because your thoughts are so quick
before I have run far enough
so I will not hear you cry after me—
Once, we were swimming.
tough brown roots entwine powder fine earth,
and our wet hands left their prints in the sand
after we stand on the creek bed
wrapped in scratchy towels.
I glanced back once as we walked,
and saw our dark brown palm marks gripping the earth
as though we wouldn’t let go.
For someone so far away, your arms startle me
you are swift to grab and strong to hold.
I float upstream
pulled by this new nature.
Ground brush glows in summer sunlight
and furthermore,
I am still frightened.
- Jessica DiSalvo
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