Tripping into the Woods

For what might a weary traveler,
When twilight has cast its clever shadow
To find his eyes the failure to illumine
The dark and bumpy road ahead,
But to stumble forward
And thus trip,
Into the woods
That tall and ancient stand that greets you
With its rustic adieu
The cool and fragrant scent
That both warns and invites…
He falls forward
Just enough to break a membrane so thin
As not to exist at all
Like his spirit hath birthed him
From the sphere of one planet
To that of another

When the bright call of a mistle thrush
Evinces the trumpet of Oberon
And the gentle rays of Jupiter fall
On the those numbered days
That foretell the autumn equinox
And the summer nymph has taken flight
Into the indigo landscape of the sunset
That is when we set our sail
Toward the isle of Avalon

He tumbles further into the thicket
Scratching and entangling himself
In this darkness
His flailing and forced breathing
Has weakened his countenance
With any chance of swift extrication
Drawing to the minutia of its limit
He hangs amongst the bramble
Crucified to the thorny weave
At the mercy of beasts…

We drift quietly in a stand of cat tails
Where Isis has found us
And she cradles our massive body
In her milky way
With all of its stars
Twinkling within her loving eyes
She has kissed us into her river
The meaning of which has become abundantly clear…

His baited body,
That sacrificial goat of his own foolishness,
Once had lived on its own hubris
His narrow mind raking everything from his path,
Scoffing at the ill fortune beset on others
Was now a badge for all wild things to see
And they ripped and tore at his helpless form
In their ravenous frenzy
His howling screams swallowed
By the dense canopy above

So enter the woods at your own risk
Some may pass and some may not
Those that do will live another day
To dream of Avalon and what hides
Beneath the woodbine
The others will be digested
Broken down by beast and bacterium
And passed from one mouth to another
Forever recycled in this resonant ecosystem
They will never leave this place…

Should you slip,
And trip into the woods

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Tripping into the Woods

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