Todd James Pierce
Leaves
The leaves do not turn, like they did in the east,
where they blushed, like teenaged girls, and fell.
On crisp, October mornings, her father burned them,
the smoke ribbonning into the pale Jersey sky,
offerings for desires she did not yet have.
Now she walks along streets lined with evergreen
and eucalyptus, an occasional oak still clutching its color,
making her way to the diner where she works
the evening shift and where she will first meet
my father. He is surprised to find
her listening as she scoops ice cream
into a blender. Though she has a boyfriend,
she thinks his shyness charming,
the way he folds his thick hands on the counter
and follows her with his eyes. He never says
too much, not even when he talks of basketball,
which is his sport. Only as he is leaving
does she realize she likes this boy, wearing
the same blue cardigan as his friends.
He turns once to regard her before he steps out,
a sleighbell jingling as the glass door shuts behind him.
Page(s) 132
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