Between Breath and Dust

My Hometown Poem #112

A scarlet leaf hangs, 
trembles, and drops
from the highest branch
twirling to the gray sidewalk,
a ruby falling from the sky.

A golden leaf plummets
in the sharp wind, descends,
and gracefully comes to rest 
on the dry, withering grass,
a topaz gift from the oak.

Copper beechnut leaves
blow across hard pavement
in a rust hued choreography
of leaping flames, fire opals 
scattering in the streets.

You hover, fragile, 
eyes closed, suspended 
between breath and dust, 
a gem refracting rays,
reflecting the mystery 
in the shift of seasons. 
I know that soon you will 
be gone, for the silver frost 
of winter lurks like a thief 
in the night, waiting 
to steal you away.

I walk briskly on the gravel path, 
shivering in the sudden chill 
of dusk. Translucent tears 
fall slowly down my cheek, 
crystals catching fragments 
of evening light, like leaves 
drenched in dew, drifting 
in the autumn air.

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I’m proud to be a member of the Iowa Writers Collaborative:

Laura Belin: Iowa Politics with Laura Belin, Windsor Heights

Doug Burns: The Iowa Mercury, Carroll

Dave Busiek: Dave Busiek on Media, Des Moines

Iowa Writers’ Collaborative, Roundup

Steph Copley: It Was Never a Dress, Johnston

Art Cullen: Art Cullen’s Notebook, Storm Lake

Suzanna de Baca: Dispatches from the Heartland, Huxley

Debra Engle: A Whole New World, Madison County

Julie Gammack: Julie Gammack’s Iowa Potluck, Des Moines and Okoboji

Joe Geha: Fern and Joe, Ames

Jody Gifford: Benign Inspiration, West Des Moines

Rob Gray: Rob Gray’s Area, Ankeny

Nik Heftman: The Seven Times, Los Angeles and Iowa

Beth Hoffman: In the Dirt, Lovilla

Dana James: New Black Iowa, Des Moines

Pat Kinney: View from Cedar Valley, Waterloo

Fern Kupfer: Fern and Joe, Ames

Robert Leonard: Deep Midwest: Politics and Culture, Bussey

Letters from Iowans, Iowa

Tar Macias: Hola Iowa, Iowa

Alison McGaughey, The Inquisitive Quad Citizen, Quad Cities

Kurt Meyer: Showing Up, St. Ansgar

Wini Moranville: Wini’s Food Stories, Des Moines

Jeff Morrison: Between Two Rivers, Cedar Rapids

Kyle Munson: Kyle Munson’s Main Street, Des Moines

Jane Nguyen: The Asian Iowan, West Des Moines

John Naughton: My Life, in Color, Des Moines

Chuck Offenburger: Iowa Boy Chuck Offenburger, Jefferson and Des Moines

Barry Piatt: Piatt on Politics Behind the Curtain, Washington, D.C.

Dave Price: Dave Price’s Perspective, Des Moines

Macey Spensley: The Midwest Creative, Iowa

Larry Stone: Listening to the Land, Elkader

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Buggy Land, Kalona

Mary Swander: Mary Swander’s Emerging Voices, Kalona

Cheryl Tevis: Unfinished Business, Boone County

Ed Tibbetts: Along the Mississippi, Davenport

Teresa Zilk: Talking Good, Des Moines

The Iowa Writers Collaborative is also proud to ally with Iowa Capital Dispatch.