At the forest edge:
knotted hedgewall of bramble
snarled weed thicket
skeletal branches scraping barren sky

Key to entry:
deep yearning
cold grief
surrender

A trail leads:
beside a sullen creek grumbling secrets
under green-crowned oaks dancing a warm breeze
far, farther, deep and deeper through shadow bright

Into forest heart:
gnarled, black-barked crone
circle of silver-skinned beeches
emerald bed of fern and moss

An offering:
sing dance until raw and hoarse
wail “I want her baaaaack”
spill wide with gratitude

Slip between time:
ooze green honey thick
pierce hawthorn flesh
soul-sprout a sapling

Choose:
return to sunshine hope
wander lost dreamtime
linger within forest heart

[Lyri Ahnam long yearned for a pristine Fairyland outside of this world, then met a gnarled crone-oak in a Missouri forest and awoke to the magic all around us. Lyri channels poetry from the forests of the Ozark borderlands. Visit www.lyriahnam.com to learn more.]