I try to teach my camera
to be like an eye
but it’s slower
than a child
it trains its lens
on whatever is closest
as if that’s what’s important
I tap the screen to urge
perspective and still it
can’t capture what I see
specifically in this instance
it fails to understand
the closeness of the beech tree
and the massive bounty
of deep reddening leaves
my camera does not
appreciate the sweet
decay in the air
it has such flat affect
I think my camera might
be depressed
I guess what I want
is for it to breathe
to see as I see
or to be a button
I can push on me
to record all of this
everything – the sound
of the dry grass
against my boot
the breathing air
soft with death
the whine of the chainsaw
chipmunk’s trill and squeak
the lazy drift, swirl
and somersault
I feel inside as the sky
twirls round a single
falling yellow
leaf