My friend and blogger bud, Sharkbytes, of My Quality Day posted some photos that she shot at Lake Michigan over the weekend. One of them, a single oak leaf on the sand completely captured my imagination. There was so much to see in that image. She has given me permission to share it with you here.

 

With eyes and imagination one can see a struggle going on here. Sharkbytes reports that two women were walking in front of her and nearly stepped on this. Fortunately, they did not and so that part of the struggle was a success. See the action of the water on sand and leaf? It provided the inspiration for these lines:

Summer has fled, now Autumn rules,
I come to Mishigami’s shore,
Barren trees look o’er the waters,
I see you clinging to the sand.

Just below the high-water line,
Bulging Spring bud now fully grown,
Bright Summer’s leaf has now fallen,
And you are clinging to the sand.

What hope remains for you my friend?
Know you not that your time has come?
What desire is so persistent,
That keeps you clinging to the sand?

Lapping waves have tried but in vain,
To loosen your grip on that shore,
The beach erodes yet you remain,
Stubbornly clinging to the sand.

(Mishigami is the Indian name for Lake Michigan)
 
Thanks Sharkbytes for sharing this wonderful photo with us.