Monday, September 19, 2005

A Stream-of-Consciousness Hymn to the Forest Gods

I walk in an afternoon
in a land where bright light is green,
slanting through leaves and leaves.
A friend leads me down these quiet ways;
hushed voices and quiet steps.
A great green canopy,
an incongruity,
a wilderness in the middle of a city.
We speak softly in this cathedral of ancient trees,
daring not raise our voices, nor wanting to.
A strangeness—the woods are watching me,
inspecting me, and I hold my breath.
Acceptance? Yes, it is given;
I am welcomed into this sacred place
where the forest gods still speak.
Power is here,
rising from this ancient earth,
and I see strange visions of ancient days
when the forest gods ruled over all.
How strange, how strange to see such things,
city-bred as I am, granted visions of the eldest of trees,
the deepest of northern woods.
Yet I dare to speak, and my friend has also seen.
In olden days, we may have been there,
priest and priestess of the strengthening trees,
of the forest gods and their green-lit realm.
And so they recognize us now
and welcome us home,
their wayward children from days long gone.

18 comments:

Tirithien said...

Wow. Well done! :-D

Bougie Black Boy said...

oh lord! are the Gods back!????
for good????

hmmmm.
I need you to help me! Come visit me, controversy about to get heated on my latest entry. (read responses)

Anonymous said...

Why can't a walk in the woods just be a walk in the woods? Why does it have to turn into some pseudo-spiritual awakening?

Bainwen Gilrana said...

It's called POETRY.

*rolls eyes*

Anonymous said...

Yeah, poetry - got it. But poetry can be beautiful without turning everything into a Merchant Ivory epic.

Bainwen Gilrana said...

Hey, no one says you have to like my poetic style. If you think you can do better, why not get your own blog and try?

Anonymous said...

So Roger Ebert should stop critiquing movies and grab a camera instead?

Bainwen Gilrana said...

Yes.

Anyone who wants to be a critic should have a thorough experiential understanding of the creative process.

Anonymous said...

Ahhhh, but you assume that I don't have an experiential understanding of the creative process.

Anonymous said...

By the way, Roger Ebert did the screenplay for Valley of the Dolls.

Tirithien said...

If you have some idea of the creative process, you might wish to show it. Otherwise, you are but a troll beneath notice.

Smerdyakov said...

I feigned sleep as she glanced at the clock on the nightstand. An almost imperceptible frown crossed her face as we shared one common thought - only one more hour together.
She eased off the bed, careful not to wake me. I watched her through half-shut eyes as she walked across the hotel room. 1511. Stll wearing only my sweater from the night before, she stood by the window staring at the skyline but seeing nothing. The image of her silhouette burned in my mind.
A thought crossed my mind and I hated myself for it. I wanted her to leave without saying a word. No goodbyes, no promises of phonecalls or emails, no hope for another last night.
And I knew she was thinking the same.

Only 45 more minutes and I'm scared to death.

It would be easy to tell her I love her. At worst she would laugh and nothing would would change. But no - the worst would be for her to feel the same way. Worse because we can only exist in this hotel room. 1511. No husbands or wives. No commitments or obligations. Just an island with nothing between her skin and mine. Nothing but her lips and mine.
I pull the sheets tighter around me as she steps in the shower.

Just 30 more minutes and I smell her on me. Her perfume and her sweat. Her makeup and her sex. It washes over me.

The water shuts off and my heart pounds in my chest. I just want her to leave so that nothing remains.

She opens the door and her eyes meet mine. I start to speak.

Bougie Black Boy said...

ok. i'm scared! jeesh

Bainwen Gilrana said...

I'm still waiting for evidence of your experiential understanding of the creative process. Writing about your experience with last night's prostitute isn't particularly creative, now, is it?

Smerdyakov said...

Ahhh, so it's ok for you to belittle my creativity but it's not ok for me to belittle yours?

Smerdyakov said...

By the way -

Go Avs!!!!

Bainwen Gilrana said...

*snort*

Is your choice of hockey team supposed to bother me? If you need Patrick Wah to fight your battles for you, you are truly desperate and pathetic.

Smerdyakov said...

It's not Patrick "Wah". It's Patrick "Waaaaaaaaaaah!".