The Damned Leaf

The great leaf lies on the floor
Like the wide train of a gown
In an allegorical

Illustration of flowers,
Where each blossom is portrayed
As a high-society

Person attending a ball—
Imagine the Met Gala
A year flowers were the theme.

But no. This is just a leaf,
A huge, green, leathery leaf,
And you’re human, so you want

To know, right away, two things—
How’d it get here, what’s it mean?
But the damned leaf says nothing.