mother earth

mother earth
I taste of you
humid air
forest scent
running through
your trees

there is no path
your ground is covered
in plants and air
ticks are waiting
on their stems
and I walk
avoiding them

burning lungs
give way to
even breath
a steady gate
I pass your dog
your dog runs past
she needs no path
but I have found one

this side of a
running stream
that beds down on your cheek
I have hopped across on stones
but this time choose to
walk in it
water fills my moccasins
cool and pleasant
squishy on the other side
but running drains them
quickly

along deer trails
blazed last year
now covered with
fallen trees
your deer have found their way
around

out to a human trail
conservation land
wide and thought free
up a hill
down your other side
over a horizontal
oak
the oak and pine path
turns to lush green
water spirit is nearby

stepping through
your pregnant brook
filled with water plants and poison ivy
slowly trickles
over round stones
dark tea water
has a ripple on the surface

a road ahead
the path is done
all that’s left
to turn around
run back
and be with you
again

2013-06-18