The fishermen float right by the dock

Their boat bobbing in the strong current

We are silent

As all fishermen are silent

And writers too

They trying to catch elusive fish

I trying to catch words

Neither of us wants to mar the music of the morning

The wet sloshing of waves against the hollow hull of the boat

Making the sound echo for a moment

Like deep wind chimes caught in a sudden breeze

The leaves on the tree behind me

Almost loud

If such a quiet sound could be called loud

It’s a wonder the leaves stay attached to the branches

By such a tenuous looking thread

The wind strong this morning

Luring even a few sailboats onto the water

The stem of a leaf must be stronger than it looks

I wonder if the leaf knows

If it lets go of the tree

It will die

Flying on the wind for a moment or two

But then falling

Untethered

No longer connected to the tree that gives it life

So interesting, trees

The roots give the tree nourishment

The leaves need it too

But the leaves in turn feed the tree

Converting light to nourishment

Soaking up the light

I wonder again at the strength of leaves

Or is it the tree that holds onto the leaf?

I am in a season of letting go

But not entirely

We still providing for our young-adult kids

As they study and learn

Only they are no longer attached to us in the same way they were

We provide only a harbor now

A place to dock whenever they need to come into shore

Unlike a leaf

They have some choice of where they land

And unlike a leaf

They are not dying

But finding a place to plant themselves

More like an acorn perhaps

And unlike a tree

I still have a role to play

In protecting the seedling

Helping them find a safe place

Encouraging them to grow their roots deep

Control changing to influence

As it has for years

Little by little

I listen to the music of the leaves

Hanging on to their branches

The tree not letting go

And I hope like the tree

I have taught my girl and my son

To endure the wind that buffets

With tenacity and strength of heart

Flexible enough to bend with the wind

While not letting go of that which sustains

Because like the leaf

They need the tree to survive

And I realize suddenly I am not the tree at all

Only a fellow leaf on an older branch

Holding on to the branches together

For He is the vine

And we are the branches

And apart from Him we can do nothing

But in Him is nourishment and light and strength

Thankful I do not need to worry

Because He is the One

Holding on to them

As He is the One

Holding on to me