Remember The First Orange Leaf
— 100 and Under Fall Competition Winner
Remember me when the first orange leaf falls
Write to me of how—
Grey clouds faded into pumpkin pies
Of the time you made soup for two
And hid my share in your stomach!
Of the day you spent searching for a missing sock
For eternity and one day
When you sink in your Christmas sweater
And sip from sweet memories
When you sleep on a bed of sleeping seasons
When summer sun wears her white cloak
When you hear the first crunch of snow
And find winter diamonds in your backyard
The tail of an orange fox peeking from behind a sighing tree
Remember me
Remember me when you smile then
When you shake your head at street cats chasing flakes of snow
When autumn tells the stories of summer and spring
To winter and the winds
— with their hair drenched
Shake their heads the way you do
And droplets of rain slip into your eye
When you cry and the long nights say ‘we’re all ears'
When you tell your secrets to the fire
And the flames in the fireplace nod their heads
When the aging logs whisper to you sweet nothings
When they tell you the bedtime stories I told you once
Remember me
As you leave the shoes of daytime behind
Wait for me
As you slip into that missing sock
Wait for me
As you embrace the warmth of sleep
Wait for me
Wait for me and I will fall into your hand
As the first orange leaf
