I’ve got a ginkgo leaf On my dashboard Yellow and all, Announcing the coming Of fall. I picked it up yesterday On my way out of A creaky old home, Off Church St. It’s a leaf I stared at For an hour Talking to a woman That sat In front of me Gently, Patiently. It was easier to Make eye contact With the Ginkgo tree Outside the window When feeling the vulnerability Behind the words I was speaking. A stranger, This woman was— A safe place, She became. We shared our love For poetry; More specifically, Mary Oliver’s poetry. She read me her favorite: “Dogfish” It’s one I hadn’t heard before Now, It’s one I’ll never Not hear. Anyways, (As Mary likes to say) I have a ginkgo leaf On my dashboard A piece of church I’ll carry With me Into winter, Maybe even Spring.
A Bit Behind This Poem:
I wrote this back in September, at the beginning of fall. It’s taken me a while to determine whether or not I wanted to share this poem and a bit of the words behind it.
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