Leaves in the River

I met a girl on Halloween When she was lost, and I was drunk And it was dark and cold out when we left And as we walked the rain started The leaves softened with every step And all around us people slept alone with their dreams The wind came down from up the planes And blew the leaves all through the streets I wondered how far leaves could really fly Would they rest in suburb yards Or make it to the city Or would they end up in the river just to float away She pointed to a small brick house And said it was where she grew up The lights were out, she asked if we could stop for awhile Her hair was still just getting wet The water running down her neck Collecting in the hand print in cement beneath her feet Apparently there'd been a death Someone close and nothing left Because she hadn't left him in the end I saw her blush when I asked If she always talked like that She said it only happened when she drank And later on I felt her hand Slipping into my cold fist She promised me a kiss as soon as we got home Her costume had begun to tear She ran ahead and turned to me Her laughter echoed through the empty streets