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| Cascade Stream Gorge in Coplin, ME |
I did this short hike on my way to the Rangeley Library to share my poetry last week. I think it made the reading that much more special as the listeners bore witness to the words and images that found their way into the room, that come from all I have learned along the way in the process of healing. This poem has been slowly making its way since then...
I share it with gratitude for my own knowing when and how to pause, notice, offer presence and for the people in my life who know, too.
Bear Witness
A tree,
or part of it,
fell in the woods.
I know this
because I heard the crack
and the crash
as I hiked
on a trail that followed
a stream to a lovely gorge.
I paused and remembered
the age old question –
if a tree falls in the woods,
does it make a sound?
In this case the answer was
yes
because I was there
to witness it.
The woods were thick,
the gorge quite deep,
so I couldn’t tell
how much of the tree fell
or where it landed.
As I looked into the chasm,
I spotted pieces of birch
starting to disperse
in the slow flowing waters
below me.
I chose to watch for a while,
mesmerized by how each of the pieces
moved at their own pace
as they flowed to places unknown.
I felt honored to bear witness
to this change in the forest,
grateful yet again
for the many lessons
that Nature has to teach.
August 27, 2021
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