Leafstorm

The snow has come and gone,
come and gone yet again
and will repeat itself
before crocuses peep
from winter slumbers.

What’s left of autumn’s leaves
dried in the freeze and thaw
of snow and stop and snow
are caught in late season
windstorm, a small eddy

gusted into brown swirls,
a thousand funneled shreds
performing wind dances
in crackles and small pops
as points, edges strike street.

Each brown, dried leaf a word
used and infused to come
alive for one moment,
dancing in sight and sound
before the snow returns.

To see more poems submitted for One Shot Wednesday, please visit One Stop Poetry. The links will be live at 4 p.m. central time today.

Photograph: Leaves in Snow by Petr Kratochvil via Public Domain Pictures. Used with permission.