We sit while children crawl about happy
Toys are scattered like leaves
Red and orange and brown from my old house at 407
I never saw so many leaves, or so many children
In my future, in your room

There you are, the boy in the tree
And we have.come down, suddenly

I am corrupt with time
All my eyes are full of ghosts
All the ghosts join us in the leaves
and someone has lit the leaves on fire
O I do so love the smoke of all the leaves

And mother said
Don't stand so close

And Kate's mouth was so, wonderful
With kisses and songs
and that is all I could wish you, kisses and songs
Profound decisionis about babies
Kipling for supper, Yeats for breakfast

And father said: freedom is a breakfast food
He'd heard that somewhere and it pleased him

And your brother read me Langston Hughes over the phone
And I replied with Ken Patcher
O lord the leaves are burning magic smoke