The Path

Photography and poetry contributed by Gretchen Volenik

The Path

Each step down the path brings me home.

I do not belong to the consumer world.

I belong here amongst the trees,

moss at my feet,

a brook flowing across my path.

I belong to the sound of the forest:

the creaking and groaning of trees in the breeze,

the squirrel's chatter,

the raven's call,

the silence of snow on the forest floor.

My heart is here in these woods,

it beats with the eagle's wings.

The fragrance clears my head,

opens my pores,

makes me light as I drift.

The weight is lifted,

there is no me.

The rocks and hills keep me hidden.

I walk along the path,

through the cedar grove beside the bog.

The cedars are majestic,

strong,

a pocket of peace.

I continue on through the brush and reeds,

and then I am there.

The ocean waits for me,

calls me to her,

engulfs me,

owns me.

Now I am the wave beating on the shore.

I am the wind racing across the open sea.

I am no more.

Gretchen lives, writes and contemplates the universe from a cabin in the woods in New Brunswick, Canada.

She was born and brought up in nature, and so tries to live as reverently and as gently on the earth as she can.

Her writing is given to her by the universal energy that connects us all.

Gretchen can be contacted at geevolenik@gmail.com.