Deep in the forest a dark trail goes,

A tunnel of branches and leaves.

Greenness envelops, embraces, enchants,

As the path purposely weaves.

 

The wind ruffles; sings in the treetops,

Stirring them into a sway.

Edges melt to infinity; the forest encloses;

The rest of the world falls away.

 

Rugged-barked trunks, a silent army,

Bear a lattice of boughs and sky.

The white pine rustles its needles;

The silver birch blinks a dark eye.

 

Dark loam and mosses cushion the floor,

Seeding stories of autumns ago.

A puddle of water pools on the path,

Catching a silvery glow.

 

Look into this mirror, feel the illusion;

The forest reflected calls, ‘’leap’’.

And just as the mind sets the body in motion

A scattering breeze comes to sweep.

 

Stillness returns, the mirror unclouds;

Crystal image resettles, a beckoning jewel.

Until the next ripple, the song of the forest

Transforms puddle to magic pool.