Life And Leaves

Life and leaves --
in autumn, both on the ground,
brown, yellow, red, orange, in piles
small and large,
and the trees are naked.
It's kind of embarassing to see
branches with no protection.
You remember the difference
between naked and nude,
and you remember
the girl, the copper head,
the copper top,
the brown/yellow/red/orange hair,
so nice in her short haircut,
white turtleneck, blue pullover,
and the way she wrinkled her nose
when you told one of your bad jokes.
She's kind of skinny, but
you'd like to see her nude
and do all the intimate
things that can happen
between a man and a woman.
But such reveries are best
for spring -- not autumn,
when the leaves are on the ground
and you have other things
to do with your time
like get your storeroom filled
with your choice of nuts
for the winter, upcoming.