Stop

Image credit: Kathleen Cross

Green veins like roads,
like an ancient map,
a snapshot of Atlantis, Xanadu,
hidden in plain sight
to those who take the time.
It takes something to stop
in the middle of a busy day,
to bend down and examine
a single leaf and learn its story.
It’s not something that comes naturally to most of us.
It’s a learned habit, a honed instinct
to stop instead of move,
to pause instead of go
to see the world in sharp focus
instead of a dizzy blur
whizzing past us
as we race
to wherever it is
we think we’re going.