My Leafy Perch Author: Kyle Chittick Date: 01.30.1986 Gazing out from my leafy perch, I focus on nothing. The anxieties of today's happenings fade as I inhale slowly and deliberately. My old friend, the maple tree, stands peacefully in the light breeze. A brownish leaf noiselessly dies and slowly descends to join a landscape littered with numerous other victims. I laugh slightly. The fate of the leaf seems a significant talisman showing me that life cycles onward. I'm glad I am taking the time to stop and notice things about life that I normally don't deem very significant at all. Some children run screaming by, their lives so simple and innocent. I feel superior to the human race while I sit on my favorite branch in my grand tree. Peering down unseen at people below, I am like a hawk, inspecting their every move, mannerism. I enjoy my view from the perch. My perspectives about life aren't clouded by social cliques, rat races, nor any other externalities. I see life in its true form, and find it reassuring. I sit for hours when I need to. Today I need to. A hectic day at school, and a girlfriend problem consumes me. Time passes, things become clearer, and eventually I am at peace with myself. I know what I have to do now. I descend down from my perch and turn to face the world again.