This place, in mind, is
a wild place full of life and
laughter. I would see
heaven in it, where a lake
spreads
sun-rich waves and tides to
shore; I would see
spider webs suspending fallen
leaves and holding
them up like mannequin strings. I
would see
the sunrise and sunset; and the
robin and goose flying
over all of my petty worries.
Once, I believed that strife would be
met and could be conquered here.
Nature was
not strong enough! Life outside
this pretty world, in mind, is
not a place of truth speaking to
the powerful and corruptible.
My soul traces boundaries of
freedom; my heart yearns
for a simple place to help me be
simple, where yellowing leaves may
fall freely without being pulled
off. I would not see
Mother Nature ache as She does.
Her heart beats
ever faintly… Our touch does this,
and what I would see
is almost gone. What I love is
dying an undeserved, untimely death.
J.H. Lee (original c. 1987; edit
2017)
