An old boulder in the woods
Is my go-to place these days
My return-to place
It was years ago
When we first met I was full
Telling it all the things
That I wanted to happen
And things that I would do
Some of those things have happened
Some of those things I have done
Years ago when we first met
I climbed its steeper side
Now I take the easier way
Holding fast to a branch
Of a little tree that grows on top
That tree was just a sapling then
So I sit on this rock
And I let an hour pass
Sometimes lost in a thought
That turns to waking dream
Of things that I want to happen
And things that I will do
And I have brought some tea
Which is something I didn't think to do
Just a few years ago
The tea helps me relax
It's like going to a therapist
Who has worked with me before
The rock is the best therapist there is
It listens and does not judge
The trees also listen
Ironwood and Ash
So still and silent
I sometimes forget they are there
But they are very much there
Making the most of their lives
I take a conscious breath in and out
You might call it a sigh
And then it all comes back to me
My life is half a mile away
Down an old logging road
Switch to a path around the pond
Where the irises are just showing
Path to dirt road
Take the short cut to our drive
Remove my boots on the porch
When I am in the woods
I like myself
I like that I have made friends there
I like that I am able to imagine
That the rock remembers me
And that like me it breathes
An occasional conscious breath
Inhaling in the fall
Releasing in the Spring
