As a thousand stars shone upon the shades of nature in a single maple leaf

And the wind touched its sides, interchangeably, with the shifting gusts

Autumn was about to enter, revealing a transparent hint of yellow in between its veins,

spreading out as rivers flow through earth

Noticing its gradual fading, the leaf felt vulnerable

Any time could the wind swish it away,

Or the sun burn it up till each corner had dried out,

Or a worm eat its way through the sugar rich scaffold.

But the wind came just in time, with an important reminder

Asking the leaf to let go of the outside and look deeper within, 

Following its veins back to core,

And further down thought its roots,

Back into earth.

And there the leaf found the wisdom of life force itself. 

Part of a big, stable, old, breathing tree. 

Embraced and comforted.

The leaf came to see itself as a majestic bloom of life 

unfolded above surface, 

held by nature within.