Pine Lane

Pine Lane

 

Follow the brick road up the hill.

It’s a path I choose to take by will.

As it narrows, this path I follow,

Will lead me to a tranquil hollow.

 

A twist and turn takes me to,

Mr Squirrel who says hello how do you do?

Blue blazes hide from camouflaging skies.

Like skeletons the tree trunks rise.

 

The hawk flies above telling his tail,

As wires cross the sky to reveal his cell.

The nuthatch & woodpecker keep me company,

While my staff holds my hand confidently.

 

Pines surround me and through the earth,

Arms reach up to steal my birth.

I watch my step, not allowing them to savor,

Avoiding their hands and returning the favor.

 

Down the hill the silence comes,

A defining note that the forest hums.

A deer passes by and I keep his pace.

Eye to eye I stride till he wins the race.

 

Through the hut of fallen vine,

A home in Walden should be so fine.

In the summer I am sure it provides,

A slumber for the wolf within its ivies.

 

Alas, I’ve come to the end

Humans stop me and question.

I turn to take the road back home

And at the fork I am not alone.

 

My friends on Pine Trail whisper to me,

Keep us company and you will see,

The faces of the trees on your way back

And the peace that you seek will not lack.

 

Now the forest is the tamer and I am the shrew

The path has changed due to the hue.

Trying not to get lost in this bewildering sight

I listen to her whisper as day turns to night.

 

Finding my way through valley and hillside

With a kinder heart for those who reside.

Back on the trail where the deer darted

The blue blazes brought me to the brick road where I started.

 

By Bryan Bennington