Forest Path

Walk slowly
Along the path
In the forest
By the lake

Every step
A destination
Every step
A Starting place

You can leave
The well worn path
Any place you like
The land won't mind

  A hill to climb
  A lake to swim
The path to walk
Just follow the wind

Subtle life emerges
In the forest every Fall
As people with their
Summer notions leave

Listen
To the world
As you tread
On bare earth
Along the forest path

Let your body breathe
Into its own
Sunrise of joy
Knowing that
It’s not alone

Feel the crickets’ ratchet
Your footsteps closer
And then fall silent
As they quietly drift by

A pileated woodpecker
Hammers and shrieks
From a big-leaf maple
While prickly sculpin
Swim silently across
The deaf lake bottom

The world inside is real
And joins the forest
That surrounds me
Inside and outside
Never were separate
Everything here belongs

The land listens
Patiently waiting
To dance with us
To join us in laughter
And carry us through tears
But it can also let us pass
In silence
Blind to its miracle

cabbage moth

Photograph by Stephen Pinkus

Two white butterflies
Fluttering tightly together
Rising from the beach
Across my path
Over a building
Into a world I cannot see
Or even imagine

They must have played
In reeds by the river
And through some way of knowing
Were sent flying together
Without hesitation
Into such a big world
Tying invisible knots
Of joy and freedom
Into tight flight lines

What could they
Possibly know
Of this place
Yet they seem to hold
All they need in their hearts
To find purpose and fulfillment
In these short days
When a cabbage
Can lead to heaven

Gratitude

Do you remember
The experience
Of receiving
A gift

Do you remember
The experience
Of giving
A gift

Do you realize
That you are
The gift
Itself