Sympathy for an Autumnal Leaf

I watched you from my window
Clinging on for dear life,

Trembling on the thinnest branch,

Howling winds cut like a knife.

Your life was draining away,

Veins red raw and bare,

Inevitably you had to fall,

I watched you laying there

Where my dirty brown boots

Crushed your brothers and sisters,

Crinkled red and golden leaves

Piled up, covered with blisters.

There, resting at my feet

Like a fallen, scarlet star

Your pitiful life reminded me

Of how fragile we truly are.