Summer ends soon.

Green turns to gold, red, rust, and brown.

Tear off a leaf and examine it. Try ripping it with your hands. Taste the stem. Take it home to use as a bookmark; Tropic of Cancer, Ulysses, On The Road, stained with a green freshness.

Come autumn, leaves will crumble. By folding your hand, the dead stiff leaf will fall apart; spreading on the ground with brown pine cones. It goes back to earth. Stepped on. Mowed.  Mulched. Piled up for kids to jump into. Swept away and placed in bags. Come November, they’ll be gone.

Ashes to ashes.