A Joy Tree's Leaf
By Dominic C. Turner

I put a leaf behind my ear:
   The pain I caused, the wails, the tears
Unspoken was the rule I broke,
   Complaints and looks - of them, my yoke.
So soon was I a fiend or husk,
   Worthy of none: such was the fuss.
Alone I walked, all foes, no friends.
   From without came the laughs, the grins.
My mind could not grasp how or why;
   Unable to perceive with eyes
What the heart has ever known,
   Being apart is fully shown.
Oh, what a hateful little leaf
   To cause me such a hateful grief.
I asked not for the smallest share.
   Of hatred's blinding, glaring stare
Is every leaf a wretched wraith?
   With truth I wish to place my faith,
And yet a lie I'd surely be;
   If I denied the leaf's for me,
The leaf, the leaf, that always shouts,
   "I'm not to laugh and grin without!"
I'm glad despite the pain and tears;
   I put a leaf behind my ear.

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