as the green withdraws

as the green withdraws

from the leaves, it leaves behind

crimson, russet, rose

          Glorious Indian Summer days. The continuous dry heat seems to be baking the green right out of the leaves, turning them into all the opposite hues. Some autumns in the Midwest, wind and rain blast the leaves down in one blow, leaving a carpet of copper and gold. But this year the maples, elms and oaks, the viburnum, blueberries and sumac, Virginia creepers, wild asparagus and poison ivy are putting on a vibrant, long-running show. 
          At the time of the great transition, some Tibetan masters of Dzogchen are able to release the elements of the physical body into a rainbow body made of the five pure lights. I would like to go out this way, nothing left but colors shimmering in the air. Yet the deciduous trees, bushes and woody plants do this every fall, when the leaves, in their dance of death, turn into a blaze of glory.