Traffic.
Cars, silhouettes against the pavement, chatter in the city streets, buzzing socialization in restaurants and bars, neon lights under autumn atmospheres.
The traffic never stops, only surges
moment by moment fast-forward
till chaos becomes the norm,
and my headspace has built itself an empire
of skyscrapers, stop signs and red lights, faces blurring along the roadside.
And the engines roar
and the engines sputter,
as I take my route to my abode
roommates on planes or driving home for the holiday.
I park my Hyundai up to the front door, key unlocks and suddenly –

Visions outside my window quiet the noise.
Leaves cascading in bronze, gold, silver,
skyline indigo; blinding blue above.
I slumber into the leaves, sinking into the pile.
Maybe it’s ok to stay for a while?
Maybe to break down, to rot,
disintegrate, to simply exist in another way.
Into the earth, into the ground.
Into the roots, into the soils.
Where no one is around.
It’s moments like these I’m grateful for,
Where my headspace falls into place
no traffic
no distractions
just me, and my leaves.