Crushing Leaves

By Aishu Rittika

Ever since I was

A little kid

I've always loved

The feeling

And the sound

Of old dried up leaves

Crushing beneath my feet

A childish joy

It brings to me

Everytime I try to

Crush dried up leaves

Now at twenty five

I get down the stairs

Of Ro's house

To see a puddle

Of collected up

Old dried leaves

In a sense

It's us

Don't you think?

Or at least,

The end of us.

I have stopped having

Thoughts of suicide

The past few days

Because I truly

Try my best

To keep myself

Occupied

I just finished

A music class

And this morning

I had my

Psychology class.

I'm busy

I'm doing well

And I'm crushing leaves

Like a child again.

The minute I stepped foot

Into those leaves

An unknown joy

The kind of joy

We have forgotten

That exists

Fills my heart and soul.

I jump

With both my legs

Plunged into the puddle

Of old dried leaves.

I walk towards Zara

Zara is my scooty

And as I walk my way

Through to her

I find at least one leaf

To crush on

And fill my heart

With a friendly warmth

From my childhood.

By Aishu Rittika