Claudia Moscovici

The painful poignancy of desire

Falling leaves

Leaves glittering in the sun
Fall upon me lightly, gently
A fire without warmth;
A life that is already dead.
They wink; they sparkle
Deceptively, as a palette of colors
Cheerfully sprinkles the earth
Only to be trampled upon;
To lose color and wholeness
Leaving no trace except
For the soft, inaudible, whisper
Of leaves decomposing in the night.