BORN OF THE WOODS
"I saw you in the forest, your eyes deep and green
I saw you in the fields, dancing there unseen..."
-Celtic prayer to the Green Man
(Prologue):
A nature walk? Ha! Such a waste of time!
I'd rather spend Sundays with football sublime!
But ugh, I HAVE to go...it'll "do me some good
To get up off the couch and take a romp through the woods..."
(Whatever...)
(PART 1: Journey)
Maaan, oh man, is this ever a BORE!
I never knew walking was this much of a CHORE!
How long have we been here? What? Only an hour??
Oh Lord, get me through this as I hike with a glower!
(Sheesh...)
It's now hour two and I strangely feel fine
This clearly is not a mere waste of my time
It's now hour three and man, I feel great!
There's a spring in my step (and) a strut to my gait!
(Wow...)
I feel so damned energized! Like I have coffee in my veins
The sights, the scents, the colors...I just don't feel the same!
It's like I just can't resist the call that they make...
Life in Suburbia...was it all a mistake?
(I wonder...)
(PART 2: Realization)
It's almost too much...I just can't think straight
And while my friends prattle on with so much prate
I gotta know more of this energy I feel!
It all seems unreal...and all too surreal
(For me...)
O, deeper I go, and more wild I get
Thrashing through underbrush, these paths that I tread
I just can't control it...my insides, they burn!
And that voice in my head claims I've so much to learn!
(What first...?)
My head starts to spin; vertigo engaged
It's so indescribable, so mythically strange
Caution now replaced with a secure sense of self
And fear overcome and placed back on its shelf
(Am I home...?)
(PART 3: Denouement):
Thoughts of deadlines and money now vanish
Worries of schedules and work stress are banished
The home? The car? The commute to and fro?
Worthless in the midst of this beauty (now) bestowed!
(Natural, that is...)
I can feel nothing save for sharp, raging winds
I can hear nothing save for loud, wolfish dins
But these howls are not warnings; no, they welcome me in
And as senses return, I can feel the beast within
(Rise and take control...)
My vision is cleared, my senses more acute
It's so hard to describe, but I find it all moot
The job, the bills, the house, all of that!
None of that matters, all those stresses thereat!
(Leave them where they are...)
The sun now sinks, and as darkness creeps in
I can still see all around me in a bluish-green tint
And all through the night, I journey abroad
With kith and kin, spiritual siblings and gods
(This kingdom is mine...)
(Epilogue):
It's been about a week, and here I remain
Scorning the ways of society with disdain
What I once found boring, a day of ennui
So much so I'd shoot to decry it with glee
I ended up lost in its reverent glow
So rejuvenated, reborn (and) free, and lo
As I peer through this kingdom of lushness and light
I now understand my sweet Fauna's grand plight
"Take what you need, no more and no less
Live by your limits, and cause no distress"
Everything we knew as "humans" becomes nil
When you gaze at this endless expanse, as you will
And remember that all was here before we
And all will be here when extinct we shall be
The world, our dear mother, will be reborn, anew
A brand new existence without me or you
And in her great name shall I offer myself
Maybe this is the TRUE definition of "wealth"...
So, now shed of humanity and in feral embrace
Will I now truly live, for I have found my place
(In the wild, I am truly home...)