The Receding Frame

It is a long time before
You realize the leaf is only a fabrication,
That the autumn light which shines
Falsely through the window
Isn’t a light at all, and that the window
Only exists so you can understand
The enduring depths.
One after another you peel back
Their luminous skins.
At some point you give up
On the center.
The truth is geological
In its breadth and marrow.