By Wren Smith
The natural world has always been a source of comfort and encouragement, a place to lose myself and find myself. Today, the Bent Twig Trail provided comfort and inspiration. Everywhere I looked I saw evidence of the dance of life and interconnections — the tread-like hyphae of mushrooms, the numerous vines intertwined on trees, the cycles of renewal amid the chaos of change and loss. If you are troubled, and many of us are, consider a hike, or at least find a quiet place to still your heart. Look with your mind’s eye for the ancient wisdom and peace we often find there.
Intertwined
These woods know the truth
Each tree a testament to it.
Each leaf turned
towards the light–
when there is light.
Now
each bouquet
of bare branches
dances
between shared sky,
seldom clashing
as if they know
each others steps.
Watch the tips of trees,
their grace —
can be our own.
And the greenbrier is
itself -always,
even after
the deer have
eaten it all
and the dung beetles
feasted
and the fat grubs
burrowed into the dark
humus of the earth
Here the mushrooms
quietly keep the truth
each thread
a story-
each story– a chant
each chant
one word–
whispered
a million different ways.
Wren Smith
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