the phagos blog

I wrote the first part of this at Riverbanks this past weekend, then finished it up last night and did some significant revision tonight. So without further ado, here is my latest piece.

Cathedral Outdoor

When the day’s pace becomes too frantic,
thoughts racing towards some distant unseen finish line,
I know and feel that I’m off-kilter, wheels spinning,
fog clouding the distant corners of my mind.
Yet there it is, the earth’s quiet voice,
calling softly, waiting for me to hear it,
summoning me home from distant thoughts in parts unknown.
Restless and weary of the world, tired of its cares,
my heart quickens on the journey, for soon I will be there.
Closer still, the desire builds, heart beating even faster,
’til ‘cross the treetop bridge I walk, and then the change begins.
Slowing down, the trees surround me, earth’s heart beating loud and strong,
my mind is soothed, my thoughts slow down, my cares scattered to the winds,
and standing ‘neath the trees so tall,
once more I feel existence cease, and again begin to live.
Into the gardens I gently stride, with mind clear and senses sharp,
the rose’ intoxicating scent, more potent than the strongest wine,
floats by on gentle breezes with butterflies close behind.
Through a gate I walk into another time and space,
far removed from modern life and its busy, hectic pace.
The wind sings softly through the leaves,
birds chirp and sing and fly, flitting here and there,
in the distance the babbling brook merges with the river’s glorious chorus.
Sunlight glints through leaves of green, while katydids make their music,
and the trees stand tall, majestic, watching o’er it all.
Leaning on a boulder, I watch the sky o’erhead,
getting lost in the blue luminosity, birds flying high above.
Breathing in the spirit of the woods, I am part of it,
back in the Cathedral Outdoor, for truly nature was the first sanctuary,
branches arching over the path in an unseen earthly procession,
offering a choice of paths to take, down which anyone can go.
All too soon, my time is up, back to the modern world I go,
but with lightened heart and peace of mind, I know,
pure as freshly fallen snow, this world is but a breath away,
and to it I may return, for the Cathedral Outdoor remains,
for any who would seek it out, and let it cleanse them like a rain.

This work is licensed under a
Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 3.0 United States License.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 17th, 2007 at 9:14 pm and is filed under life, poetry, writing. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.