I wrote this poem while I was in Syracuse pursuing my MFA in Creative Writing. The images in this poem—the skateboarders and the trees—came from my experience walking to campus in the morning at the beginning of fall. I remember seeing students on skateboards, and so many were impeccably dressed—a nice button-down or printed shirt, a great jacket, fresh haircut. I was struck by how they were using the skateboard as a real mode of transportation while also looking so well dressed—as impressive as they could be at the start of the semester.

As for the trees, the leaves turning, I was just thinking about their change during fall as a change of dress, too. The two images came together on the page as I was writing.

(Photo of Chen courtesy of Jess Chen.)