Oak Leaf Hydrangea

 The shrub was the size of a small tree. It lorded over the corner. Hand-sized leaves reached out as I tried to navigate the sidewalk. Autumn was spreading its chosen palette of colors across the hydrangea: terra cotta, deep rose, burgundy and dulled-down reds. Cars rumbled by as I examined each leaf. Some still had green veins. Others had given themselves over to the reds. They were mapped with rivers and tributaries of browny-wine. A few holdouts deep inside the massive shrub were still summer-green. Their time would come.