Brown leaves cascade through the air like confetti in a tickertape parade.  What is it we are celebrating?

The rain falls silently, pooling at my feet.  I wonder as the leaves swirl, is this just for me?

I close my eyes, breathe deep the damp air and think, Can I hold on to this just a moment longer?

I raise my hand to brush my hair out of my eyes and catch a leaf instead.  Yellow, orange, and red bleeding together and the leaf feels supple, alive between my fingertips.  

I stick it between the pages of the book I am reading, smiling.  A moment captured.