by Greg Nelson

in the richness of the shaded leaves
and the luminance of the dappled ones
the yin and the yang encircle 
the base of the magnolia tree    

	I turn my back on Plato's cave    
kneel and lift a leaf from the grass

like my soul
it weighs just enough 
to let me know
it's there

		a shadow 
	from above sweeps over 

	the mallard feather 
	the native green flame 
	in my palm
	
		closer a prairie 
	interlaced with trails 
	the cosmic web 
	in verdant detail

		raised aloft 
	a grasshopper's wing
	God's emerald eye 
	looking at me

	I let go 
and the leaf 
sways as it falls

folding its secrets
back into itself

---

Greg Nelson is a former teacher and a depression survivor. He received an MFA in poetry from George Mason University. Recent publications include poems in Flying South, Atlanta Review, and Gyroscope Review.