Currency of the Forest

Currency of the Forest
 
The bright gold leaves
are tumbled on the forest floor
like a trove of treasure
in a dragon’s lair; each one
as rich as a gold coin,
more valuable in their transience.
 
Here and there, the green turns
to yellow, the yellow to gold,
the bounty of an ephemeral moment
in paradise before
even this illusion turns brown
and then to dust.
 
 

I love to see the yellow and gold leaves carpeting the forest floor.  There are a few days each year when this happens... just a blink in the flow of time.  In the end, all living things go back to brown earth... even those that have gleamed like transient gold. This is not a morbid thought.  Any instance of beauty that can be captured on film, in paints, or even in memory will love on in human consciousness.  The secret is to take the time and then have the discernment to see all the treasure that is around us every day.  Like the saying "if a tree falls in the forest where no one can hear it, is there any sound?", the thought of all the beauty of the forest where no one can see it (or has the ability to appreciate it) is of big concern to me.  These acres and acres of precious woods won't last long.  Every time we go up to the farm, we see another swathe of piney woods decimated to make room for progress.  Even by the end of my lifetime, there may not be as many lovely golden leaves to see and appreciate.