Haiku #05609

The Story

In this picture, fallen leaves lie suspended on a pool of completely still black ditch water along an old railroad bed. It’s late on an Autumn evening and the sky has begun to turn blue near the end of day. That blue reflects back along with the trunks and limbs of the trees above. Naturally created, it’s a beautiful scene of colorful nature in close up.

Though it’s pretty, this unusual lay of floating oak and ash leaves on black water can be visually confusing. The black water acts as a mirror, showing everything in a reverse view above this little pool. But the leaves lie floating in suspension on top facing the viewer. Nothing was moving, not even a wisp of a breeze.

The most recently fallen leaves lie floating on top of the still dark water, but many more have sunk below the surface over time. Their color has faded away as they disappear below a little bit at a time. Here they are, caught and suspended between above and below.

The life of a leaf: from sunny summer green to a slow fade into deep black. Still, both ways are always beautiful and interesting as nature takes its course.

I gave this picture the title of Haiku because of its simplicity and beauty, a bit like visual poetry.

Autumn leaves and water are always a good combination and there are more pictures in the Fall Landscape gallery on this site.

Location: near Vintondale, Cambria County, Pennsylvania. Picture and story © Andrew Dierks