For Roberta
For Roberta by Renee Hawkley The November air had a bite to it as I walked to work this morning. The sky was full blue, and nature was showing off in a thunder of silence. I picked up a leaf among many strewn along the sidewalk and, on closer examination, was stunned to discover its exquisite blend of design, color, shading and texture. My coworkers must see this! I chose a prominent counter and displayed it on a background of yellow construction paper. Word spread, and the "perfect leaf" was visited by admirers throughout the day. Our graphic artist even borrowed it for a brief photo shoot. On the afternoon walk back home, I noticed all the other leaves that had escaped my attention earlier. Most are on the ground now. I think of them as colonies and collections -- the leaves raked into a pile -- the leaves huddled together blocking a storm drain -- the leaves filling a leaf bag. Suppose there is such a thing as a "plain old" pile of leaves, but no such thing as a...