A forest in Scotland made a deep impression on me
In me
Around me
I couldn’t get enough
At the time
Now
Just outside of Auchencairn, near Castle Douglas, Southwest of Dumfries
Anytime I am asked to think of a place
A magical place,
A time
A memorable time
An incredible sensory experience
I think of rain hitting a canopy of those leaves
On those trees
Hazel, birch, alder, elder, oak, ash, juniper, Scots pine
Evergreen
Dense
So thick rain turns to mist upon descent
Moss underfoot, lush with moisture, cushions my step
Absorbing the shock of me
My weight made fairy light in that hazy glow
Of a fern filled, dew draped hollow
Day breaking through branches above my back
as I bend to take in a toadstool
From magical tales told to me a million times in my youth
Here I am witness to storybook spillage and spine-tingling awe
Nature’s beauty surrounds me
In that forest I am lost
I am found
Key is to keep a world of mushrooms, boughs, and bark
Around me at all times
To twirl in that mist
Lounge on that moss
Talk with those trees and rocks
Walk in wild Scottish woods
Because that is where I find myself
Every time
Searching for answers
In Sierra Madre canyon, California now
I live with bears in my backyard
Mountain lions make their way past my door
Wild, ferocious animals all around
Beasts I can handle
People I don’t trust.
It’s not animals that scare me
Or make me lie down next to them
just to get past the studio gates
None of them lord their predatory power over me
They keep their paws to themselves
I felt so safe in that forest
My sanctuary
A place to howl or scream
Cry out
Curse a misstep or a sideswipe
In that full and fertile forest all is washed clean
My sins
Theirs
In that hallowed cathedral
I pay my penance by living one more day.
peeling away layers of guilt
fostering fresh self esteem
I threw religion out the window long ago
My soul is on its own
If I can wrap those woods around me
anytime I can’t bear anything else
I can make it back to a place in myself
I feel truly inspired and alive
I can breathe
I can sigh
I can sing myself to sleep in that forest
or wake up in the middle of a dream
and feel like I’ve arrived