The Leaf - Visitor's Love Poem

by Kristio Wright
(Freeport, Bahamas)

I was but a leaf stemming from the branches of my sorrow;
Imprisoned by the seed of my sadness & pain;
Restricted with the bark of resentment;
And hatred was the tyrant of my soul.
The roots of my tree were nothing more than
anchors which limited my pigmy self;
For they were grounded in the soils of adversity.
I had no other desire but to fulfill
the void which lied deep within me.
The sun would beam her light upon me in grace & pity me;
For she knew of my sadness.
But I would reject her pity & comfort, & turn my eyes from her;
Only to be comforted by the shades of my own sadness.
The breeze would have mercy upon me & made efforts
to blow away the shackles which had me bound;
For he was saddened & mourned for my freedom,
but I rejected his efforts & disregarded his crying.
The people of the village would
gather to me in multitudes seeking comfort;
For they knew that my pain was of a greater scale than their own.
They looked upon me in appreciation of their own lives;
For they understood that I possessed true suffering;
And that their pain was nothing more than simplicity magnified.

One day two men stood before my tree and marvelled before me.
One saying "How can he know pain? For he is but a leaf".
And the other said "Nay he is not a leaf, but a wise teacher of
true pain so that we may understand her paths & threshing floors;
She is a potter who fashions agony and heartache with her own sacred tears so that we may be moulded by her hands of suffering;
Nay he is not a leaf, but pain made visible through his own misery".

But one day I found Her.
She came in the cooling of the day
when the skies were most beautiful.
Her hair was embraced by the winds &
the rays of the sun would cushion itself upon Her lips.
The birds could not sing in Her presence;
for Her elegance dumbfounded them.
The animals would yield to Her their attention;
for She was most deserving of it.
She was cloaked in the garments of blissfulness &
Her steps were profound with virtues.
In Her left hand, She possesses comfort & assurance;
And Beauty & Truth lies within Her right hand.
She wears the veil of authenticity;
And Her smile illuminates the hearts of those
who gaze at Her wonders in admiration.
She is true beauty, but I was
nothing more than a miserable leaf
until she directed me unto Her ways;
And I welcomed Her with an open heart.
She greeted my tree with tenderness;
And I was seething with ecstasy.
She detached me from the branches of my sorrow;
And replaced it with joy.
She freed me from the imprisonment that lied upon me;
And replaced it with happiness & tenderness.
She released me from my bitterness;
And replaced it with pleasantness.
She had slain the tyrant within me;
And replaced it with liberty.
Then my beloved departed me;
leaving nothing more than Her gifts of divinity.
I greeted the sun with pleasure & fulfillment
enquiring of her rays of light for now I am accepting of it,
but she overlooked me.
I addressed the wind and requested of his mercies,
but he disregarded me.
And the people of the village would
no longer visit for my teachings;
For they saw me no longer as a wise teacher of pain;
I was now deemed nothing more than
a foolish disciple of pleasure.

For now I am alone.
Trapped within the abyss of my fulfillment & comfort;
only accompanied by the treasure
which my new beloved had left behind.
I was no longer a leaf, but an oracle of which
my beloved deposited Her gift of opulence,
but to them I was a nonentity;
A vessel filled with nothing but a curse;
And my heart bled within me for I found contentment,
but for the cost of the admiration they had towards me;
And I was deemed mad because of my satisfactions.

A few moments later I saw the same men
that marvelled at my understanding of pain and
they conversed amongst themselves at a distance.
One said to the other "Is this not the same leaf
you spoke of in marvel of his understanding & teachings?
For he recognized the voice of true pain &
the paths of her continuous sufferings?"
And the other said "Nay it is not;
For how could he have known true pain?
He is but a leaf".

And I mourned with the tears of gratification
for I have found her and she left with me her gifts
Yes I have found her; I have found-----LOVE.