The Inner Hermit
Social hour
is not for me
too many people
makes me skeeve
isolation is a friend
I’ve invited in
and when it’s time
to gather
I’m nowhere
to be seen
Don’t make me go
I’ll kick and fight
I’d rather eat alone
out of sight
An Invitation
Home
is where
the heart is
and my heart lies
in green moss
and stretching fronds
of sword fern
where quiet giggles
stir the air
as tufts of green
rustle and shake
as friends
tempt me to
come play
Time Alone
Cloak me
in your verdant splendor
of softly draping moss
and lichen’s cling
Let me lie
upon soft beds
of delicately
feathered fronds
while leaves flutter
and branches sway
above
and birdsong
becomes a lullaby.
Invitation to Dream
Little bursts of color
dance among the shade
to beacon
as they bob and sway
and seduce you to stay
Tiny stars
wink in the dark
among
hues of dusky green
with tangled stems
like spiderwebs
to catch you
in a dream
A Moment’s Sun
A sea of sword fern
as tall as a man
sway in light breezes
as a moment’s sunlight
dips through trees
to bathe fronds
briefly
before the angle
changes
and shade returns
Don’t get lost
in the shadows
Fomitopsis pinicola
Hungry tendrils
tap the heart
making fallen trunks
into brittle twigs
as stronger brothers
look on
towering above
to provide shelter
for all that
now call
their fallen bretheren
home
Twisting the Leaf 