The Hillhouse Oak Trees

I've watched as your vibrant green leaves 
Have transformed into scarlet reds to fiery oranges to 
Auburn browns to the sun-bleached crisp light brown they are now. 

Every day I walk down this cobblestone path,
I've let my eyes wander and drift along with
Each leaf you release into the wind. 

Your leaves drift and glide through the air, 
They skim the waves of 
The wind like sailboats on the sea. 

As I pass by under the archways of your branches, 
I listen to the few leaves 
You still hold rustle in the wind. 
They tremble and shake close together 
At the thought of letting go. 

But once they break free from your branches, 
They smile and laugh as 
They twirl and dance in the wind.
They tumble and cartwheel as
The wind scatters and cascades them along
The grass and the stone slabs of the path I walk on. 

The leaves giggle as the squirrels tickle them with 
Their fluffy tails or their noses whenever
They peek underneath,
Looking for a good spot to
Bury acorns for winter. 

Now, I walk by piles of leaves
Huddled together in large leaf piles.
As if in pillows of sleep,
The leaves peacefully wait to decompose into
The soil that feeds nutrients to
The very trees they grew out of. 

Elisabeth Nwasokwa is an English major who grew up in Queens, New York. Her trips to Alleypond Park with her mom as a little kid encouraged her love for nature. She writes poetry in her free time and is often inspired by the motion, small details, and landscapes of nature. Being in motion, whether a simple walk or sitting on the train, inspires her thought process and writing flow when creating poems. Elisabeth's favorite season is Autumn so she often takes photos of the beautiful Fall foliage and writes a lot of poems about the season. She believes that focusing on the simple joys and beauty in life helps keep us grounded in a world that is often hyperactive and rushes by so fast.