Some late falling leaves
are too dark to be visible.

They crash through the night
as you lay deafened by frost
or the creaking doors of the sky.

Train wrecks happen
when no one is watching.
People fall out of planes
into empty fields.
Life collides with its own loneliness
is nullified
into countless zeros.

You can fall
into a dead space unnoticed---
where you would expect to find debris
dark leaves tumble unseen.

In the morning
you sweep up your remains
closing a door softly behind you.























(C) Eric Ashford July 08