but connect a leaf to the stem that is
itself not a stem but what
supports and swells
at the pulvinus: a sheathing of blade
at base allows each leaf
a sway
of shifting orientation
when the wind
caresses
causes the greenness to fold until the Fall
which is really a push —
each leaf leaves the branch from a push:
self-destruction built in as self-
protection: the tree cuts what it needs to live
scissors its supply chokes its veins
until daily
this slender connection
can barely hold on
steadily increases its dangle
lets a firm wind finish the rest
the way a hand can caress
then leave
and take everything
away
the first line is inspired by Ross Gay’s “Ode to the Tongue Orchid”