“November Leaves”
By Mildred Alpern

They’re hangers-on
Refuse to leave the party.

When all the guests have gone
They straggle slow
To find their coats and glasses
Misplaced, lost, never worn.

Excuses to cling like toddlers
Grasping mommy’s hem
Ready to burst in tears
To want to stay forever.

But Nature has a way
Rebirth and regeneration
Demand room.

* * *

Mildred Alpern was West Side Rag’s poet and photographer-in-residence and dear friend, from the time the Rag was founded in May, 2011, until April, 2023, when she died at the age of 92. This poem for November is part of Mildred’s “Calendar Year Project” — a poem and local photographs for each month — which she completed just before her death.

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