The Leaves, You Guys.

Maybe it’s because my current state could only be described as “deliriously over-tired,” but this afternoon when I was walking home I just kind of noticed it’s now fall. The leaves, you guys. The leaves! They struck me, bright and every colour, as if vaguely poetic in a way that is sentimental but not, because I hate sentimentality but do get drunk and feel things sometimes and today I am so tired I might as well be three sheets to the wind.

The leaves, you guys.

And how I feel about today reminds me of something from my favourite poet, Derrick C. Brown. From his poem “A Finger, Two Dots, Then Me,” here’s the snippet that sums up right now. Indulge me. The leaves!

At that moment,
the planets begin to spin and awaken
and large movie screens appear on Mars, Saturn and Venus
each bearing images I have witnessed
and over each and every clip flashes the word holy.

armadillos—holy
magic tricks—holy
cows’ tongues—holy
snowballs upside the head—holy
clumsy first kisses—holy
sneaking into the movies—holy
your mother teaching you to slow dance
the fear returning
the fear overcome—holy
eating top ramen on upside-down frisbees
cause it was either plates or more beer—holy
drunk beach cruiser nights—holy
the $5.00 you made in Vegas
and the $450.00 you lost—holy
the last time you were nervous holding hands—holy
feeling God at a pool hall but not church—holy
sleeping during your uncle’s memorized dinner prayer—holy
losing your watch in the waves and all that signifies—holy
the day you got to really speak to your father cause the television broke—holy
the day your grandmother told you something meaningful
cause she was dying—holy

the medicine
the hope
the blood
the fear
the trust
the crush
the work
the loss
the love
the test
the birth
the end
the finale
the design
in the stars
is the same
in our hearts
the design
in the stars
is the same
in our hearts
in the rebuilt machinery of our hearts

Seriously. Go look outside. Holy, whether you use that word religiously or not.