A late December hike
on a cool and damp winter day
is a rare chance
for finding reckless sophistication
in a stripped-down Winter Woods
The lichen on the Oak trees
and ghost leaves upon the Beech
can best be seen
touched
heard
felt
on days such as this
Without walking through these woods
on a gray day like today
how would I know what I had missed?
Wildlands are all the more Wild
on a day that promise sleet
and discomfort.
The woodpecker's thick laughter,
all the more mad.
The bright crimson flash
of cardinals darting through the trees
is deftly balanced by
the deep leather embrace
of the damp leaves at my feet.
And if I slip on wet leaves
and fall on my pride
and I will
and I have
it is worth it.
