To Catch a Leaf

By Luis Garcia

To Catch a Leaf
for Fernando Alegria

Rich refusals,
odd silences,
obscene gestures,
familiar demons:

he found these words
on his back pages;
he found these words

locked in cages;
he thinks of them
as his only wages.

He’s busy trying
hard to try.
He’s busy trying
not to sigh.

He’s busy trying
not to cry.
He’s busy trying
not to lie.

He’s busy trying
to stay alive
instead of being
busy dying.

He’s busy stealing
toward the morning.
He’s busy stealing
toward the afternoon.

He’s busy stealing
the leaves from the branches
of rain–soaked trees

and the brilliant blossoms
that are growing
from the craters of the moon.

He found these words
on his back pages.
He found these words

locked in cages.
He thinks of them
as his only wages.