Walk In The Woods
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I don't bring a compass or a map when I venture into the woods. I just walk,
and walk,
and walk.
Maybe I'll wind my way around to the next house over, the garden now overgrown and the occupant now far away. There'll be no friendly hello or offer of tea if I step out there anymore.
I walk,
and walk,
and walk.
Maybe I'll make my way up the mountain and settle myself at the base of the Grandfather Tree. Its needles grow more sparse by the year, but it still stands. A towering sentinel overlooking the whole hill and valley.
I walk,
and I walk,
and I walk.
Maybe I'll follow the brook like I used to, still babbling along its old path, though it's a little wider now from several spring thaws and floods. Many of our old landmarks are gone now, but it still flows to the same place.
I walk,
and walk,
and walk.
Maybe I'll let myself get lost. Just wander for a bit and see what happens. I know I'll end up back home eventually, no matter which way I go. Something always leads me back to where I started in a way no map or compass could ever explain.
I do not fear it. These woods will take care of me, just as they always have.
So I walk,
and walk,
and walk.
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This piece was written in response to Poppy's Prompts #3:
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About the Creator
Kelsey Clarey
She/Her/Fae/Faer. I live in Nova Scotia, Canada. I mostly write poetry and flash fiction currently, a lot of it fantasy/folklore/fairy tale inspired. I also like to do a lot of fiber arts and design TTRPGs.
https://linktr.ee/islanderscaper
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Comments (16)
There ia warmth in your way of narrating❤️
The peaceful embrace of the woods, where each step tells a tale and every trail travels not just through nature, but also through the layers of one's own life.
This is beautifully written. There's such a gentle sadness to it that begs to be felt. The description is gorgeous and it all hints at a bigger story behind this small poem. A really well deserved top story!
Such release when in the woods, walking with a pencil and notebook is like the chewing gum analogy. This was graceful. Congratulations on Top Story!
Very nice! It reminds me of so many memorable walks in the woods of Oregon that I have loved. Congrats on Top Story!
A walk through the woods definitely helps me to reset my mind. Greenery is so helpful in boosting morale and work ethic a lot of companies have been incorporating potted plants a lot more often. I've always loved bodies of water such as rivers, brooks, cricks, streams, ponds, and lakes. Even vernal pools have their own unique allure. I hope to find some fairy shrimp in a vernal pool in one of these days. I raised triops before, and they were fun. I'd like to see some wild fairy shrimp some day. The way the wind makes music when it blows through the leafy branches of trees, the songs of birds that are looking for each other or out for each other, the skittering of squirrels and chipmunks amongst the undergrowth, and the sound of sitting down on a log and letting it come to rest again after the wood creaks. Oh, the beauty of the forest and going for a walk or just basking in nature. It's just something innately primal that speaks to us in no way that urban developmental sprawl ever could.
I enjoyed this leisurely hike through the woods and the tale of how various parts have changed over time.
Congrats on Top Story!🥳🥳🥳
This is a very lovely piece about nature and, in some ways, the passage of time. Congrats on the Top Story!
Beautiful nature poem! So glad it became a Top Story, Congrats, Kelsey.
This totally reminded me on my first holiday (in ages) that I spent in the iconic Teuteburger Forest in Germany (The forest in which the German defeated the mighty Roman army). Enchanted, historic, iconic. And your words totally reminded me on my walks around there. Great time, great time reading this! Thank you.
Really, really lovely!
Congratulations on top story🎉🎉🎉
You have described what I love to do. I have a good sense of direction but many times I get lost
This is a really beautiful piece, so ethereal and reflective
What a pleasant read! I love nature and walking through the woods like this, so this was heartwarming for me. Nicely done!