i asked to taste the kisses you give
and you walked away through
the falling leaves of the night.
i'll stand and wait on your reply.

i want to hear the world in all
its many-flavored languages,
all the tongues speaking words
to symbolize ideas and thoughts.

now where did you go walking off to?
i hear leaves crackling beneath
your feet and the weight of your heart.

you are a thought and a language,
a symbol of a glimmering feeling,
walking clumsily on leaves and sticks--
these noises are a new language.

i hear you speaking it fluently,
perfectly, as if it were the sound of
"Let there be light," or "I name you 'tiger.'"

i stand still, listening to you speak
through this walk-away, crackling leaves.
you are a beautiful thought drifting to me
through the night and the leaves and
the air that i breathe.