Leaf in the Wind

Nothing but a leaf,
a little shy of whole,
blowing in the wind.
Maybe that’s what
my life will be—
a leaf blowing in the wind,
a vagabond
with no traces to humanity.
Like a ship,
I will be declared
lost at sea
landing a week later.
Nothing more than
another fi sher.
When a child
picks a star
that is his or hers,
then goes back
the next day
to see battalions,
I could be that star,
lost to the night,
lost, as a leaf in the wind.

by blaise ellery