Greta Garbo lamented
“I vant to be alone”

My situation
is
different

I want the leaves
to
leave
me
alone

You don’t
hear
them

I do!

They speak.
rant,
guffaw,
chortle,
razz,
giggle,
shout,
brag,
scream,
hiss

They rustle
in
the
middle
of the night
and so
I
toss
and
turn
like clothes
in
a dryer

Oh
there is
great joy
indeed
when
they open,
when
they drink
of
the sunlight,
when
they
are
green
and frisky
and
tickled
by morning
dew,
or
soft
alluring
rain

They provide
oxygen
to our
starved
planet

They are
proud,
puffed up,
glorious,
multiple
and
dance
with
the
wind!

But I
hear
their
fears,
their
uncertainty,
they
speak
so loud
I
hear
it
every day
and
constantly

They
know
too well
the
moment
comes
when
they
are
pushed
out of
the
plane
without
a
parachute

As if
I
can
do
anything
at
all
about
it

They
scream,
plead,
ask
for
reconsideration

I begged
nature:
“Let the
leaves
remain!
Have
them
pass
slowly
over
time,
like
humans!

Each leaf is so beautiful!

Don’t
make
them
fall
to
the
pavement,
to
the
earth,
let them
return
in
a kinder
gentler
way
to
your bosom!”

This
the
only
time
I
get
complete silence

So
I stand
next
to a magnificent
tree
and
make
my
plea

People
going
by
walk
well around
me,
avoid
me

A tree
branch
touches
my shoulder,
pulls
me
close
to the bark,
trembles
and
I hear:

“Save me
and
you
will
save
them!”