a brief burst

the leaves were falling
and it was not sad!

the boys squirmed in delight
as yellow and orange and red  
swarmed around their little bodies

and for half a second
all i saw was them
wrapped in joy and wonder
(it was like visiting a land i once knew)

and then the next second, of course
i saw who was not there
and i kept smiling
but not as hard

and then i walked down the driveway
to get the mail