The Woods Spoke to Me

The backstory: I wrote this back in 2002. We’d just moved into a new house, and the kitchen window faced out into our backyard ending in the edge of woods (unbuildable wetlands; we still live in that house and the woods are still there.) It was a late Autumn afternoon, and I stared at the woods, these words and images came to me…

The Woods Spoke to Me

I should have been doing laundry,
but the Woods spoke to me thus–
Come…
Feel the dry, sad leaves
crinkle under your feet.
See if you can catch
the sigh they make,
Now that their lives are ending.
Resolute that they will rejoin the Mother
in a warm embrace.

Come, the Woods said, come…
Follow the flickering lights
as they dart through the branches.
The Sun does not penetrate here.
Come…

You are new to this place.
Don’t your fingers ache
to touch these prickly bushes?
To discover the wild berries
that grow here?
Come…

Look how I’ve left myself
exposed for you.
Dropping the leaves,
letting dead branches fall.
Sucking back the vines and ferns
into myself.

Coyote will not harm you–
Fox is shy.
Squirrel will show you the way.
See him dancing for you
at the edge of the yard?
The brothers and sisters of the Woods
heed my commands.

Come…
Follow the broken light
into the shadows,
where your footing is unsteady.
Breathe in the crisp air,
the dank earth,
Let it nourish you.

Squint your eyes,
and you will see…
Me, the Lord of the Woods
in all my majesty.
Darting through the costumes
of the leaves–
Waiting for you.

Join me in this place
you know is home.
For you are kindred…

I should have been tending to the house.
But the Woods spoke to me.
Oh! The Woods spoke!

~ © Suzanne Reynolds-Alpert
Please do not reproduce or republish without attribution and/or my consent.