In the Shade of the Woods

By Dave Thompson, Kenai

In the shade of the woods

I taste sweet waters

Where the creek runs slow

Of the nearby spring

All alone I stood

Unpoisoned by plotters

Where the dogwoods grow

Of discarded things

I sense the cruel world

I smell sweet nectar

That circles about

Of crabapple blooms

As the riffle swirls

With honeybees pent

From the rising trout

To blossoms, they zoom

I feel the sweet peace

I pinch last Fall’s crop

Such a quiet place

Of dry crunchy leaves

My time to release

Though some never dropped

From a worldly race

From scrub oaks, they cleave

I see ruffled ferns

In the shade of the woods

United they stand

Such a peaceful place

As a breeze returns

I’d stay if I could

They shake hand in hand

From world’s human race

I hear mellow chorus

Of song birds in air

While flitting through trees

In harmony there