Crunch and Swish

As I sat yesterday 

In a queue of cars 

A woman caught my eye 

Late fifties 

At a guess. 

Not a beauty 

Not in bright clothes 

Not sashaying to be noticed 

But because 

She walked 

Hands in pockets 

Head down 

In a world of her own. 

So why? 

Why did she stand out? 

Because 

As she walked along 

A regular street 

With others around 

She kicked and swirled 

At the leaves on the pavement 

Grinning 

And being 

Not caring 

What others might think. 

And in that moment 

I wanted to join her 

To Step 

Crunch 

Shushel 

Walking 

Running 

Through the auburn drifts 

Leaves and twigs 

Nuts and seeds 

Piled and wind swept 

Begging 

To be kicked up 

With glee 

And a spin of laughter 

Sinking beyond ankles 

In the crispy piles 

As you hoof a glob of leaves 

In to the air 

To watch them fall 

And twist 

Back to the earth 

In a vortex 

Of reds and browns. 

All added to 

And enhanced 

With the aroma 

Of warm autumn earth 

So let out the freedom 

Of the child you once were 

And dance 

And Skip 

Through the fallen leaves 

With a whoop of joy.