The Trailblazer

On a cold and damp morning,

Through a thick, foggy haze,

I sojourned along a familiar trail, 

Until I discovered the blaze.

Not a dry stream or animal track,

But a path made with boots…  

By a trailblazer pressing into the dark,

Climbing boulders and exposed tree roots.    

“Why not?” I thought, as I left the trail,

Pursuing the secrets of trees. 

I pushed through old vines and into the woods, 

To see what a trailblazer sees. 

This blaze was much harder to follow.

The path was often broken. 

But every time I found myself lost, 

I found the trailblazer’s token.

A cairn had been thoughtfully stacked,

Near a bent and arthritic oak. 

Balanced stones pointed the way, 

And thus the trailblazer spoke.

Through blackberry bramble and down a ravine, 

Cairns kept leading me deeper.

Boots gathering mud, I crab-walked and slid, 

The slope increasingly steeper.

The blaze terminated at a final rock pile;

The last statement from my host.

I found myself in a dark, timeless space,

Untouched by man, almost. 

A crystal pond was being fed,

By a meandering, laughing brook. 

It called to me, inviting me in,

I inched forward to take a look.

A Great Blue Heron, still as stone,

Stalked the edge of the water.

And a bale of turtles were standing guard,  

For a vivacious and slippery otter. 

The trees all had names.

Some even had faces.

The wisest and eldest, 

To watch over such places. 

The sages bent low to kiss my brow.

They chanted secrets in voiceless song.

The foggy breath of alder and ash,

Reminded me where I belong.

This place, the otter, the trees and ghosts,

Had hid just beyond my sight.

In ignorance I had passed them by,

Hiking only on the trails deemed “right”.

How many strange and wondrous spaces,

Do I pass by everyday?

I’ve always stayed on well known trails.

Perhaps, it’s better to stray? 

Stray? Yes, stray! 

And let’s start today!

Forsake that familiar, comfortable way. 

And who gives a fuck what others will say? 

So, gather up stones!

There are more cairns to make. 

We’ll blaze beyond the secret pond 

And forge trails for the seekers to take.