Peak Performance

Leaves from the Rest Stop

Mile Marker 48

U.S. Highway 18

(S.W. Wisconsin
near the confluence of the
Mississippi and Wisconsin Rivers)

 





By Rev. David H. Rommereim
 
The winds of autumn pass through leaves,
filling sound with color, even before
their turning is complete.

Soft and moist, they cling to life
offered through the kith of maple,
cottonwood, cedar or oak.

The music in their play performs the confident
scores of notes which keep a grip,
even as some fall early.

Late in their career there is a force of character
anticipating thankful memories mixed
with the fear of the unknown.

The colors forecast how each has provided
a moment of magic and mystery feeding earth
with the holy grail of liberty.

There is a blessed mingling since each
is claimed through the shelter of perfection
scientists have named photosynthesis.

The other name comes from the place
our planet intersects with the being and becoming
of all natural entities.

Ultimately, the wind blows, sun droops,
and the melody turns brittle, through the deep rhythm
of the neighborhood drum.

And as it happens, each is glad
the journey is accomplished, glad to serve
through their peak performance.

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