Clairière

n. fr = clearing, glade.

Tunnel into the forest

Tracing a path

Broken and defined by generations of feet.

Sinuous line of history and memory,

Skirting trees and rocks,

Tracing ravine edges,

Following the landscape

with random purpose,

Becoming part of it,

Changing, deviating with the seasons.

Overhead, the wind plays with the treetops

Its chatter ceasing occasionally

To give voice to a chorus of soft notes

Sung by an unseen river

in the valley below.

Sunlight arrows

Cascade into the dark stillness,

Silvery, laughing darts of light,

Punctuating the sober sylvan tones.

Ahead, the meadow beckons gold

As the trail veers to the irresistible temptation

Of the open landscape

Briefly

Before the forest beckons it back.