A Leaf, before It Falls

A leaf, a second before it falls,

A drop of rain, before it reaches the ground,

A thought before it becomes a poem

or a wish or a plea or a kind gesture--

What has changed between the thens

and the nows. The leaf is unaware of its destiny;

rain never considers the flowers it will feed;

What if a thought, yours, remains a cold synapse, 

depriving the world of poems, dreams 

and the timelessness of human love.

 





Poetry by William Hughes The PoetBay support member heart!
Read 127 times
star mini Editors' choice
Written on 2026-04-06 at 01:38

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Sona The PoetBay support member heart!
A masterpiece of a poem, indeed. A forever inspiration to be always striving or just be with your presence. Just be. And the doing happens. It all adds up.
2026-04-15


Editorial Team The PoetBay support member heart!
Your poem has been chosen to be featured on the home page of PoetBay. Thank you for posting on our poetry website!
2026-04-13


Sameen The PoetBay support member heart!
A wonderful rumination, if I may say so myself. Seems you've tapped into the old masters and rung out all the poetic preconceptions since antiquity to write this beautiful lyric.
2026-04-07


one trick pony The PoetBay support member heart!
A very interesting reflection possibilities. I take this to heart—all the what-ifs that life presents.
2026-04-06


Griffonner The PoetBay support member heart!
That would be such a terrible thing. I hope that Mankind never descends that far, or rather, people are not repressed to that extent. We see in such propositions a glimpse of something we must turn our hearts and minds away from, and do our own small part in preventing: Hence we write words that we hope will in some way inspire readers; bring good things into their lives, or simply at as catalysts to transformative thought. Blessings, Allen
2026-04-06


Alan J Ripley The PoetBay support member heart!
And what if,
A smile never happened.
2026-04-06