Style: n/a
Statement: This is a poem about my own experiences with hiking and being in nature in general, something I find super calming and peaceful.
Go on an adventure, to the wilds beyond:
Drive the winding roads up Highway 35,
That redwood forest tucked between
The Christmas tree farm and cozy town
And broken signs and rolling ridges.
Breathe the fresh morning fog,
In-out in-out. Focus. Ground yourself.
Shhhh. Watch. Listen. Feel.
Get off your phone. Take out your earbuds.
Watch. Watch the redwoods rustle in the breeze,
Leaves spiraling down like dancers on set,
Trunk so wide ten of you could fit inside.
Watch. Watch the sun climb the mountains,
Light speckling through the canopy and
Onto the fall leaves littering the trail.
Watch. Watch the little brown fawn
Bound across the trail in little hops,
Following its mother to green grass.
Listen. Listen to the crystalline sound of the wind
blowing through the leaves and branches,
Playing a melody on a piano only it can see.
Listen. Listen to the valley stream,
That rushes across stones and falls
And covers your toes in cold water.
Listen. Listen to the crunch of your footsteps
On top of dirt and sticks and stones,
And step into a puddle from recent rains.
Feel. Feel the bark upon your skin,
As you hug a redwood older than the Romans,
That will stand in this forest for millennia.
Feel. Feel the dappled light of the sun,
As it warms your skin in the frigid morn,
Before a cloud covers its embrace.
Feel. Feel the summer breeze, warm on your face,
The winter rains, knocking on your jackets,
The spring breeze, refreshing and cool.
Shhhh. Watch. Listen. Feel.
And be at peace.
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