Leaf: a Portrait

They are magicians specializing in the art of transformation. They fly. They soar. The inhabit the heights, they crowd the ground. Instead of fading as they die, the glow brighter and brighter in an explosion of colors. They are noble and generous, sheltering us with the shade, providing us with clean air to breath. They have no voice, yet through the wind they speak to us. They shake, they tremble, they dance and warn us of storms. They are beautiful. They are blessed with sumptuous curves and busy networks of lines, which show their character and not their age. Some live a solitary life and others live and die in large extended communities. They are a kaleidoscope of colors, an atlas of shapes and forms. They are equal in beauty, form and usefulness. They are leaves.