Robert M. Simmons  

from Morning in Middleborough... (Poems 1991-2006)    

                    Leaf Madness

Each year when autumn comes to town,

the nights get cold and leaves fall down.

They mostly land beneath a tree,

then drift like waves upon the sea.

Soon men in mackinaws assess

the best way to remove this mess.

Some use rakes, and some use blowers;

some use their trusty lawn mowers.

Each one swears by his chosen tool

and thinks his neighbor quite the fool.

Whichever way is deemed the best,

the leaves are bagged and put to rest.

But that’s not where this story ends;

leaves can make enemies of friends.

Throughout the town men can be seen

admiring lawns that are leaf clean,

until a gust from God knows where

drops its cargo of cold despair,

leaves of every color and shape

that somehow managed to escape,

now strewn about on lawn and yard

where men had labored long and hard

to show that they were in control

in one small part of nature’s whole.

Theories of leaf movement abound

as clues on every lawn are found.

Soon storm winds of suspicion flow

towards those who did not rake or blow,

and anger rises like a flame

as neighbors ponder who's to blame,

but little comes from all this heat

save for the cycle to repeat.

So once again man and machine

combine to render backyards clean.

For weeks this madness plays its role

until the north wind takes control,

spreading white snow both far and near,

subduing strife until next year.

Generations of men have passed

pursuing leaves until their last.

If only they had learned in school

to follow moderation’s rule:

                            © 2003 by Robert M. Simmons

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Subjects: poems about, leaf raking, raking leaves, small town life, satire, poetry, poems

Leaf Madness