The Forest Path: Toilsome Shuttle; Ingratiating Track

A cobbled path

etched on forest floor

a rudimentary lane

graded with twists, curves

beset with the twining cords

of wandering vines, roots

to ensnare the drifter's feet

spliced along the rough edges

chiseled, rotting stumps

to trip up transient migrants

merely a dusty corridor

with a sepentining bridge

ferrying the weary traveler

from dale to valley

from meadow to rippling brook

To the itinerant poet

a boulevard of dreams

a surrealistic avenue

spaded with colorful markers

and rusticated sign posts

for his discerning feet to trace

seeded with mystical portents

for his searching spirit to uproot

 a maze of herbs, brambles, vines

for his enlightened mind to unravel

Trail primed with sparkling grains,

shiny pebbles to coax his imagination

patterns stenciled on grizzled trees

that his sharp lens bring into focus

scarred rings engraved on the boughs

spun on their fibrous reels

years of plenty; years of pestilence

a library for his probing hand to search