Lessons From The Leaf Poem by Jananie Balaji

A seed slept soundly, in arcane bliss
As the sun's warm light crept in
On the bland mud bed, drenched by a droplet
And lo, new life was made to begin

The root shot down from the radicle
And tiny a shoot from the plumule
A leaf, with time burgeoned, and then, another
Watched Avy, with glee, on his way to school

First, the leaf had scores of brothers
Soon, eleventy flower sisters bloomed
Bright and beau, the bees, they beckoned
Gathered sweet nectar, as they intently zoomed

The roots grew longer, trunk ever so stronger
The plentiful fruits were sweet as dream
Leaves flared out, perched on princely branches
The birds and bugs were in writ large teem

But Avy, with the years, watched with interest,
Not the beautiful flower, but the blessed ‘Leaf! '
Dutiful labourers of Nature and God
How they worked in silence, with no signs of grief

How they tirelessly cooked, all day long
And breathed for themselves only at night
Coming in cool shades of red, yellow, green
And still struggled to stay in sight

How some were on top and the others beneath?
And yet, each leaf got its right rightful share
Of sunlight, For no leaf ever blocked the other
Thus, smugly teaching us, to give, take n care.

Why some fortunate leaves sprouted right on top
While others were far below in the same big tree?
Why some colours and sizes were better looking than the rest?
Why the 4-leaf clover was considered luckier than 3?

Attention or appreciation, they ne'er bothered for,
As they laboured, to make the world a cleaner place
On land, in sea, how they lived only to serve
So all beings could breathe in happy space

How they withered with ever-changing seasons
How they were chewed at or chopped with a knife
How, on returning to the soil, disfigured and dead
They served again, as nutrients, for fresh new life

Good samaritans, in life, and aft death
Nature's true unsung heroes honoured so brief
A life of simplicity, service and duty
Avy penned down, were the ‘Lessons from the Leaf! '