Afternoon temperatures rise
more hot days are coming
the air muggy buggy
not just butterfly bee dragonfly ladybug
but spiders flies mosquitoes red bugs ticks
still the forest calls to me
to seek a balm within its green depths.
It has only been a few days since last I was here
yet everything has changed
the green of leaves deeper fuller
the forest darker.
Wildflowers gone now
mountain laurel the last stanza of that symphony
ferns tall and lush
the creek bubbles on
disturbances in the water
of water strider or tiny fish.
So much photosynthesis!
Trees are swaying titans of energy oxygen music
birds join the chorus in the canopy above.
I seek woodland solace in the mornings
the air still cool
dewy spider webs drape the path
I carry a stick to clear the trail.
Afternoons I sit inside and work
as the temperature roars skyward
too hot to go anywhere!
Still the forest beckons
cool and green.
Poetry and image by Cheryl Lawrence
