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Common Brief

I watch the leaves awaken in the wood
behind our home, as daybreak crawls along
the trees, and shafts of sunlight penetrate
the canopy. The leaves are motionless,
but soon enough they’ll shake off sleep and dress
for work, which is their God-appointed state.
Though relatively frail, yet they are strong
together as they do the work they should.

I focus on a solitary leaf,
still mostly in the shadows, but intent,
or so it seems, on harvesting the light
within its reach. And thus it lends its might
to join its neighbors, doing what they’re bent
to do, as they fulfill their common brief.

And I am like that solitary leaf,
content to work in shadows, but intent,
oh so intent, on harvesting what Light
I can each day, that I may bend my slight
abilities to do what I’ve been sent
to do in working out our common brief.

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T. M. Moore makes his home in Champlain Valley of Vermont. 

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10 Responses

  1. Mark Stellinga

    An excellent Autumn poem, T. M., easily visualized images, a clever metaphor, and in a very tricky rhyme scheme. Great job – 🙂

    Reply
  2. Paul A. Freeman

    A very effective rhyme scheme and message, and some great imagery. I particularly liked the leaf ‘harvesting the light / within its reach’ which is then used metaphorically in the last stanza.

    Thanks for the read, TM.

    Reply
  3. Joseph S. Salemi

    I take “a common brief” to mean what we share with the external world, as represented here by a leaf. But a brief suggests a legal commitment, a position to defend, or some kind of argumentative stance. Capitalizing “Light” in the third section makes this brief a kind of religious duty or assigned task, given by God, just as the leaf has its own duties. Both the leaf and the speaker “have been sent,” or “are bent,” and have tasks to fulfill.

    The rhyme scheme is deliberately non-obtrusive, which is suitable for a meditative piece that is also intellectually complex.

    Reply
    • T. M.

      Dr. Salemi: That’s the sense in which I use the term “brief” in this poem, rather like a calling or even a mission. Mine may be no larger and no more consequential than that of a single leaf, but it’s mine, and mine is part of a larger, God-given whole and thus definitely worth doing to the best of my slight ability.

      Reply
  4. Cynthia Erlandson

    Very beautiful imagery and musical meter; and I love this rhyme scheme, as well. “Daybreak crawls along the trees” is one of several beautifully-spun phrases in this very lovely poem.

    Reply
  5. Yael

    This is a nice nature poem which is enjoyable to read and conveys a tranquil feeling. I like the focus on the singular humble leaf, which is unusual as leaves are more often mentioned in their plurality. Nice work!

    Reply

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