Sunday, November 23, 2014

In the Bracken

A Port Alberni back yard owl

If ever you would speak with any tree,
come walking in the forest here with me.
I'll show you the wild mushroom  and the root,
but where the ancients gather, set no boot.

If you would speak with nature spirits wild,
you must maintain the heartbeat of a child,
learn riversong and  mountain chasm deep.
You must commune with angels in your sleep.

As you step lightly on the pungent moss,
and feel the leaves the winter wind doth toss,
let your spirit fly away among the trees.
It will return upon the morrow's  breeze.

I go into the forest dark and deep,
every night after I fall asleep,
become a woodland guardian, reborn.
I do not want to leave when it is morn.

Last night my spirit fought as a black wolf,
against four brown wolves on the forest floor,
This told me that a battle lies before,
my spirit having recognized its door.

Come with me. I will show you secret groves,
moss-hung and ancient in this stand of pine.
Deep in the bracken, where the hoarfrost glows,
the Old Ones are singing Home this heart of mine.

One from the archives of late 2012, my friends. Posting it for the Poetry Pantry.

31 comments:

  1. I like this a lot.. to dreamwalk into those forest.. barefoot into the forest deep.. I would love to have such sleep..

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  2. YIkes! Amid the beauty, spirit and old-world-i-ness, a message of a struggle to come awaits! The door is there, but not yet open. The song is singing, but not yet sung.

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  3. wish everyone would follow you to listen to the deep silent song...

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  4. The voice of Nature...always enchanting and inviting...like to have a wonderful walk through this forest of your dream... :-)

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  5. What a wonderful dream beckoning us to walk and see the wonders that are in jeopardy...

    'This told me that a battle lies before,
    my spirit having recognized its door.'

    Oh if we could but solve these battles by walking through a door in our dreams.

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  6. This is really one of my favorites in a collection of jewels!

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  7. You have given us a sense of all that can take place in the depth of the forest. I imagine those secret groves to be beautiful and peaceful.

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  8. you have unlocked such mysteries of forest spirit life, with an inviting tense

    luv the flow, the rhythm, the rhyme

    have a good Sunday

    much love...

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  9. This is a truly beautiful poem - an inviting poem. I enjoyed it so much. Sorry not to get back to you. I have simply been too unwell. WE are meant to go to Indy for Thanksgiving. IT is my favorite holiday and I really do not wish to miss it ... we shall see.

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  10. Great poem, the story told is one we all can relate to.

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  11. I am skipping, singing and dancing with my hand stretched out to your wild voice. Now I see why you are the wild woman!

    This is nature at her most magical, wild and alluring!

    What a treat. ♥

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  12. You keep the structure going here with great ease Sherry and the musicality of nature comes through in a very vivid way - lovely to read...

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  13. Very enchanting poem Sherry... Nicely done.

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  14. I like the idea of the owl as the 'woodland guardian', the one who knows. I also like the owl's tone, that of the old and wise sage as well as the way you evoke nature in your poem, Sherry. A beautiful write.

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  15. O to hear the old ones singing Home. How great it is to walk in the forest and be welcomed.

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  16. It feels you know every trail in the forest and 'they' know you....how nice...I'd take a tour x

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  17. So beautiful, may we all learn the forest language.

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  18. Sherry, your communal relationship with nature never ceases to amaze and transfix. The Elders of the forest, how quick those with money mow them down in search of money. Never trade prophets for profits, right? Strong, especially your dream. BRILL. Amy

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  19. I love this one Sherry. It is so you, the guardian of the forest. I'd love to talk to a tree with you, connect to the wild and dream.

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  20. i would gladly join you Sherry - be it in dreams or in a real forest. reading this to be in a trance... i want to stay there forever

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  21. The place I feel most at home, Sherry -- in nature, in the woods. This was gorgeous!

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  22. I so wish we could talk to trees and wander into the wildness of the forest. Lovely write Sherry! :)

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  23. i loved this poem a lot, for its rhythm and rhyme, and the dreamy and serene tone of the piece. totally enjoyed reading it. :)

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  24. There is something so alluring about the forest and all it has to offer. Great write Sherry.

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  25. The decimation of forests and the consequent destruction of species is too depressing to contemplate.The spirits of our ancestors must be weeping ( not the developers' ancestors...they are probably all languishing in the fires of hell)

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  26. Love this one Sherry. Sorry for not getting here sooner. This old woman is tired and slow of late...

    Elizabeth

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  27. Intriguing!
    I am ready to have a child's heart and explore :)

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  28. sherry, this is so relaxing and serene.

    i have heard of meditation walks, i think you just took me for one! :)

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