A Ring of Brass

I slipped through the front gate and walked down the street toward the corner bus shelter. Resting right beside the corrugated glass panel on the rough pavement was an abandoned brass metal washer. I knelt down to touch its cool, circular edge. It had a neat round hole right through its middle, just wide enough for something small to peek through. Taking the curly stem of a dry elm leaf from the ground, I threaded it carefully through the center. The flat brass ring held the leaf upright like an umbrella, casting a sharp circular shadow on the concrete. #Flatwasher #Leaf #Canada