Leaf

I am nine on the
School playground
Sitting at a table
With five other kids
As a young woman
Places several leaves
Vein side up on the table
Then places a sheet of
Manila paper over them
And uses colored crayons
To rub the paper over each
Leaf to make a picture of
The leaves each in a Fall color,
Red, yellow, orange, brown.
We are amazed and hurry to
Try to make our own picture
Using the leaves we pick up
Around the table making
Patterns and scenes of
Leaf bridges, houses, people.
A simple thing but still fun
To show children even
After 60 years of sharing
This secret technique.
Years later we would use
This method to identify
What tree each leaf
Was from and which
Fell when and learn
About deciduous
And ever-green
Trees with the
Awe of Druids
In a cluster
Admiring an
Oak leaf.