Poems

Refreshing My Sanity

I found poetry in the forest
Just off the logging road

Dust and gravel in my path
Mind burning with its load
My stomach tight, my knuckles white
Desperation in my blood
I stopped and parked to take a walk
Nerves ready to explode
My walking stick, my knapsack
Water and some food
I struck out for my doctor
An office carpeted in wood
Cool, the canopy of green
Drew the heat from within me
Calm the forest’s voice
It’s soothing tone, authority
The trail ‘neath my boots
Primeval spirits so demure
The sunlight dappled forest floor
A breath of wind and leaves astir
The tinkle of a brook
The flashing of a trout
The crashing of the waterfall
My weariness flowing out
I stripped away my cares
Hung my worries upon my stick
Stepped among the boulders
Green with moss, and slick
I dipped beneath the surface
Turned to look into the sky
Refreshed, re-tuned, and blessed
With the Earth, at peace am I
Reflections from my annual Sanity Restoration Vacation in Maine.
I spend two weeks alone camping and hiking in the Moosehead Lake Region.
After fifty weeks of human congestion, I need time to recharge and rejuvenate
My spirit goes flat for most of the year
Though I'm normally joyful, filled with good cheer
The world seems tuned to negative press
Nature is where I go to redress
The grievances building slowly inside
The heaviness pressing my spirit to decline
My mental state dependent on two weeks every year
A vicious cycle that never seems clear
Death is the outlet that looses our chains
But I'll not wait for the inevitable end
To rid myself of turmoil within
As long as I have a forest and streams
Fresh water and air, scents blue and green
I'll hike till I fall
Asleep on my feet
Let the world pass me by
The wooded trail is my street.

12 thoughts on “Refreshing My Sanity”

  2. Wonderful write, and I very much enjoyed the (impressively-taken) photos! Thanks for letting us be a belated part of your sacred solitary retreat. 🙂 So happy you made it back to Maine. ❤

    Like

    Reply

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