"Into the Woods"

November 2, 2025--Poetry Day 2

"Into the Woods"

I walked into the woods
today, seeking refuge and solace,
some sense of knowing where to go from here,
after a long year of tears and darkness.

The foliage was thick and quiet
more serene than I thought it would be,
except for the jabbering of birds
and scuffling of small animals in the brush.

In a small clearing, a small creek gurgled
its way in and around small bushes.

I sat, my back against a tall cottonwood,
its branches thick and gnarled
and rose 30 feet in the air, 

surrounded by quaken aspen.

For a brief moment, I looked up,
stared at the small opening
through the thick green leaves.

Instantly, the world closed around me,
the quiet stopping my ears, squeezing me tightly.

I couldn’t move or breathe but sat suspended
in time, and it flushed through my system,
in and around me, a gentle breeze lifting
the back of my hair and rustling my clothes.

When I was released, the seconds had turned
into hours, and I felt renewed, refreshed,
reveling in the quiet peace that surrounded me
as I stood, looked around one more time.

The chirping of birds and scampering of animals
entered my sense of hearing, sounding happy and joyful.

I soon left the woods, not really remembering
why I had entered, only that I had entered
and left a new man with joy and happiness
scurrying through my veins, from head to toe.