Waldeinsamkeit

Today I stood still in a forest

and trailed my gaze up pillars and pillars

of wood.

.

Leafless branches, skinless and bony

scratched the sky,

and the ground was sodden beneath my feet.

.

The whispers of the wind

and the squelch of mud

played a soundtrack in my head

.

as I walked a path I have never roamed.

And I flipped a penny at each turning

to determine which way I should go.

.

I longed to stray from the path, those

downtrodden pine needles,

and delve into the unknown around me.

.

I yearned to beat through bushes,

cut my hands on brambles and

stumble over tree trunks and roots.

.

But that might ruin my clothes,

my shoes, the blank canvas of

my flesh.

.

And so again I was faced with

a tragic flaw – the struggle of

being lost in the woods.

.

In the end, no matter the urge to run,

I walked,

and put preservation before exploration again.