Fallen Leaf

Fallen Leaf, originally uploaded by susanvg.

There is something melancholy about autumn. While the trees put on a colourful show, they slowly lose these leaves. Autumn is also about loss. This single leaf lies on the ground, riddled with holes - was it food for a parasite?

I suddenly thought of the Canadian soldiers in Afghanistan - in the glory of youth. Some make it home riddled by bullets or shrapnel or by the invisible wounds of post traumatic stress. While this leaf will never see its former glory, the tree it came from will rest over the winter and then once again grow foliage and shade the forest. The men come home needing that long winter rest, to heal and to learn to live again. We are only slowly recognizing the need for time and even that does not heal all wounds