The girl who went adventuring
Picked up her heart one day
Where she had stored it in the pantry
And placed it in her pocket.
Out by the river she floats
Through the bluebells marveling,
Spicebush, sassafras, vaguely
Thinking, “Have I ever seen a paw paw?”
No matter. So many thorns to catch
On her clothing, so many sticks
To dig at the fabric of her dress—
Hands, pulling her back. Oh no,
She will not be held! She moves on,
Beneath sycamores sweeping,
An infinity of blue sky beyond.
How is it empty pockets now bulge,
Filled with interesting stones? When
Did her feet became muddy,
Her ankles scratched and weeping
With cuts? But she notices none of
These things, notices nothing, save
The sparkling sunlight on the
Shenandoah, the osprey’s great wings
Spanning bank to bank, the
Delicate shadows beneath the ivy,
And the miraculous sound of traffic
Far in the distance, where she knows life
Proceeds, whenever she someday returns.
The girl who couldn’t sleep, writes
She ventured forth one morning
Her heart, tucked away
Stored in her pantry, safe and warm
Now in her pocket, it lay
Riverbound, her spirit drifts
In awe of bluebells’ sway
The woodland scents she takes in shifts
And wonders, “Where’s the paw paw tree today?”
No matter, though the brambles cling
And pluck her garments hem
The hands of nature try to bring
Her back, but she defies them
Beneath the sycamores she strides
The sky above, so vast
Her pockets filled with tokens wide
Yet how, she does not ask
Her feet now clad in muddy sheaths
Her ankles marked with battle
These earthly kisses fail to seethe
Her spirit, nor her heart rattle
Instead, she marvels at the glow
Of sun on Shenandoah’s skin
The osprey’s wings that grace the flow
The play of shadows within
And far away, the world still turns
The distant hum of motion
A reminder that life adjourns
When she’s done with her devotion
Again, amazing. A call and response. Harmony. Thank you.