Skeletons

Collecting leaves the from the large trees in our (smaller) backyard had me thinking about the difference in purpose between tree's physical structure and our own.

Clutch, claw, grasp.
Femurs and spines, biceps, triceps,
and flexors, ribs sinewed together for motion.

Optimize for station:
sprawled tree
spread for space and sunlight,
Twists and forks in radials.

Measure the volume of leaves
collected.
Three more surface than our palm.
There lie 100,000 count.
1,000 pounds.

We will clutch and claw
and grasp them.
Collect them. Maybe glance up
at empty branches for stragglers.
Instead see a skeleton
for a different purpose.