Sticky

Leaves that fall on New York sidewalks stick there
if it rains, or if it is moist at all.
The light green-gray confetti grows denser
and again people ask what those trees are,
dropping confetti throughout the city.
Larger yellow leaves build into a slime
if no one sweeps or scrapes them off for days.
I’ve concluded the sidewalks are sticky,
because in winter, the thick wavy ice
clings over large stretches for weeks and weeks
if it stays cold, until only dark spots
remain into spring, like sentimental
friends who cannot say goodbye, or people
who want to think about what just happened.