A Great Letting Go

A few months back Sharon & I were camping in Iowa and early one brisk fall morning had the following experience:

A Great Letting Go

There was no wind,
no motion or sound, that early morning after
the first killing frost,
all frozen in place but one--
a persimmon tree,
the day before heavy-laden
with rounded leaves
of yellow and green,
hastening now to drop its burden
before the morning light
revealed its work undone,
shuddering imperceptibly
in a great letting go,
a flutter and a rustle,
hinting of great forces unseen,
laying one last colored shroud
on a season turning now
to brown and gray.
By noon her work was done.

JBHannah 11/7/07