‘Enzo’s Leaf’ is from my second book, The Quarterly. It came to me on a camping trip in northern Ontario as I watched a leaf pass in the Spanish River, then slowly disappear beneath the surface - metaphoric of course, but I felt like it was the beginning of Enzo’s journey into his afterlife, a beautiful farewell in a place he belonged.
Lyrics
Enzo’s Leaf
I remember Enzo’s leaf
His curled star slowly dissolving
Embraced by gold and silver minerals of the Spanish River
Like Emilio his father before him
He faded into faceless oblivion
Passing over tidy smooth stones of an ageless riverbed
Oh to take leave
Embark on a journey of current an season
Resting in rich golden sand beds
Never reaching the chaos of shore
Enzo, my compadre
I see you now beneath fall’s charcoal skies
Watching from the tenebrous deep
As migrating angels spread shadows
Along your constant ceiling
For Enzo Detta Coli
© Fredrick Brooks 2013
