My Woods

 John Emerson, ‘27 

I do not wish to conquer

The sublime

And overwhelmingly powerful

Beauty of nature

I wish to exist,

Become a part of it,

The complex chaos

That makes nature so lovely

I wish to consume it, fully

I wish to take it all in, truthfully

I am envious of nature,

In all its glory

I am jealous of its freedom

Its pride, its wholeness

I wish to be

I wish to exist

So now I free myself

So that I may live

Among the birds

Flying high over the trees

That sway like dancers

In the wind

Who’s hand grazes all

The grass fields

Rustling together in a thunderous chorus

With the leaves

That crinkle under mighty feet

Let me tip-toe among the moss

Allow me to walk along your flourishing grounds

Please, may I catch your leaves?

Breathe in and applaud your concert of the woods?

Grant me the right to frolic through the tall grass

And to feel the wind encouraging me along

Like a proud parent teaching their kid to ride a bike

I wish to dance just as you do

So loose from the lack of stress

For only the present matters as we do the forest’s waltz

How do I hold strong like the century-old oak?

How do I soar as gracefully as the stalking owl?

Teach me

So that I may live

Allow me

To live among your lands

Your effortless beauty of the cyclical

Teach me

So that I may be your lands

Allow me

To become as free

As the sunlight cascading across my woods