Determination.

Determination

One single leaf

high in the tree

the earth it has not met

its bright orange canvas 

Autumns art

the best of nature set

high in the branches

pointing out what 

fall has failed to get

Winter's not started yet

I watch by day

as cold winds blow

it twirls and flutters on

but with determination

it dances there each dawn

like faith and freedom

it still clings

though others all have fled

its brothers once around it now

on frozen grass lie dead

I know that soon an Artic blast

will shake it from it's post

then it will tumble free at last

knowing it tried the most

but there beneath 

where it once clung

a tiny bud is cleft

within a shell that 

Spring will burst

replacing one who left

There is a lesson in this leaf

that sprung from germination

and now hangs on against the odds

with strong determination

no matter how the winds of fate

can tug to make us fall

if we find strength, 

hang on and wait

we'll rise above it all

and even if we lose the fight

much later we will find

we've set a plan 

within the hearts

of those we leave behind

and they will bloom 

where we left off

adding  joy to every season

determination serves mankind

for more then just one reason

That tiny little leaf 

it fell just now

and landed by my door

I'll seal it  in wax paper

and  keep it's worth there stored

preserved forevermore