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Saturday, July 21, 2012

LIFE'S FENCES
LEAD TO GATEWAYS and VISTAS
ASTOUNDINGLY WONDERFUL
AND AMAZINGLY MEMORABLE!
If you walk a country lane
for any distance at all,


you're bound to come across a fenceline
and a gate.

and if the workman building the fence
comes into view

chances are he will invite you to stop
and have a beer with him
before continuing on your journey.

There may be an ancient Juniper
to sit under,
 it's wide reaching boughs,
sharing its shade,
and a swing
and table for you to rest and eat and play.

Sometimes you walk alone through the forest

but it's more likely you'll have someone
walking beside you ....

And she will point out a cluster of wild flowers,
and you will invite her to swim with you in the
 forest pond .... free and unencumbered by
clothes or the fear of being seen by others ...
because,
after all,
there's no one in this part of the forest this day
besides the two of you.



There may be a cabin along the pathway
 through
the forest,

but you only peek in through the open doorway
lest you disturb the shadows and memories
etched into the walls within.
A family lived
and loved
and their lives had meaning
within these wood framed walls
.......
but all that remains to give a clue
as to who they were
is a broken down fence,
lending it's  spiked remains as strength,
and a background for
straggling daffodils
that resurface
year
after year
with nary an eye
to appreciate their vibrant faces.


Some forest treks
are more achingly lonely than pleasurable ..
steep hillside
and a heavy load to carry
...... destination
a lone pine tree.

where the footprints and dust of lives passing by
mingle with the wildflowers

that bloom but for
a short time,
then are carried away in the wind to be planted elsewhere.

There is a beginning
of our trek through the woods,
a middle time for exploring 
 its beauty,
and an end of that journey ....

so you close the gate and walk down a new path
.......
together.


Not the end.....
just a new beginning.