Today I will rake leaves

In spite of the wind

And rain

In spite of the leaves that still remain on the trees

Which will soon fall

These leaves which will watch my work

Knowing that if I simply waited

That when the trees were bare

And the winds continued to blow

That I would not need to

With rake in hand

Occupy my time with raking leaves

Today I will rake leaves because I need to be reminded

My ego has consumed my thoughts

And I am deceiving myself

For whatever that might mean

Reminded that my wants are only mine

Chaos comes and goes like the tide

Yet never leaves

And often beauty and order is temporary

Always temporary

All things are temporary

Today I rake leaves so I can be at peace with the struggle

And realize that it is not a struggle

It is a single movement

With resistance as much a part of the whole as fluidity

The leaves will blow away

Or get bagged

The lawn will appear as green

And clean

I will feel as if the task is done

But it is not

Some may tell me this effort is wasted

I must be at peace with that

As I must capitulate to the rain which also suggests I make better use of my time

Nothing I say or do will change these facts

The leaves will remain until removed

The leaves will fall until the trees are empty

The rain will fall

The wind will blow

And I will rake leaves