LISTENING TO LEAVES by Krista Katrovas

This poem came after hearing the news of my mother and childhood friend having surgery on the same day…

 Our connection to leaves, to the falling away of years, time, health, youth, and the beauty of witnessing such impermanence, offers one such profound gratitude for what is given.

Listening to Leaves, reminded me of the life of leaves -as well as our own life- and our connection to our ancestors, and the need to witness such beauty along with the passing. 

Listening to Leaves

She stayed up till nothing

but leaves could be heard.

Sat listening to the shuffle

of their brittle toes

skipping down the streets

of Kalamazoo,

the ballerinas of fall.

They sashay

through neighborhoods

of old homes

that house the spirits of women

that once stayed up late, too,

like she,

to watch, listen,

and dance to the sound of leaves.

The fiery moon,

a Lunar Eclipse in Aries,

sends waves of emotion,

feelings she

has yet to understand.

She thinks of the falling,

of leaves, of life, years,

of how fast the seasons

mark the change of time.

The breath of these

Maple, Oak, Poplar

as they intertwine their limbs

like ballroom dancers

ready to twirl into frenzy

before landing their sweat beads

made of leaves

onto the sidewalks

comforts and saddens her.

People shuffle through these leaves

without thought of their dance,

or of how truly hard it is to break free

from such movement.

Everything wants to live.

The women

and the spirit of these women

haven’t forgotten.

They listen

to the voices of their Grandmothers,

to Unci, to the moon, the wind,

to leaves.

They stay up late

catching the silence,

witnessing the fall,

learning from sounds,

words only spoken through leaves.

During the sleeping hum of husbands,

partners,

children and pets,

women enter softness,

dance to the tenderness of it,

to how the fall feels,

to how it feels

to be among the fallen,

and how vast the impermanence

is felt in the silence.

They worship, listen,

and breathe with Mother Earth,

hearing the songs

of their Grandmothers

found late at night

dancing within the leaves.  

~

Photography by Katarina Silva

Krista Katrovas (E-RYT) has dedicated herself to the practice, study and teaching of yoga since discovering it in 1999 after dancing rigorously as a dance major in college. Krista has had scores of articles on Yoga, Wellness, and Spirituality published in nationally regulated magazines. She has a regular column at Elephant Journal here. She has taught Yoga in Prague every July since 2009 and has been sought to teach in Kuwait, Canada, Virginia, California, Kentucky, and Florida. She calls Kalamazoo, Michigan home, where she teaches Yoga, Meditation, offers Spiritual guidance, and practices Shamanism. She has cats, though also loves dogs, all animals. Her power animal is the Snowy Owl. Visit her yoga website here.

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