Monday 22 August 2011

flung headlong



in preparation for class here at Long Ridge Farm
i wander into the woods
the path a soft depression in the landscape
invites velvet paws



i have the feeling of being watched
not uncomfortable
more the sense of shared space


sitting on a rock i close my eyes
and it's then that the sweet fragrance of the maples
takes me to another time


forty-two years ago
nearly to the day
i first played in woods like these
not so far from here
fondly imagining i could disappear between the trees

the memory tsunami is almost too much
as is the place itself
so beautiful it hurts



later
walking back to the farmhouse
i find a brier* patch
berries sweet and dark
sorry bears
i ate them


and it put me in mind of a favourite story
about someone who'd been born and bred in a brier patch

despite distractions
a few leaves found their ways
into my pockets



* purists may challenge my spelling but this i how i read it first
all those years ago...

8 comments:

  1. Sweet memory is such a treasure. Just over a decade ago I spent an August week in the summer lushness of western New York, so different from my beloved but dry Serras. Thanks for taking me back to that memory.

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  2. delicious place to be holed up a while ... enjoy!

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  3. Sometimes memories do hurt even if they are happy memories..... and especially when one is alone in the "wilderness". This looks like a beautiful place. Enjoy!

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  4. Oh those memory trains rushing through the senses. Beautiful fabric.

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  5. today I received your new book it is a wonderful book a treasure

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  6. Wonderful place..wonderful evocation of it for us who are there vicariously!

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  7. I had not heard that tale before so interesting to read it, thank you for thr link to it. Do you know, I had never, ever put Brambles and briar/briers together!!!
    No idea what I thought briers were in that case and I obviously hadnt paid much attention to poor Sleeping Beauty being trapped behind them in the castle.......lol
    How dim can I be lol duhh

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