forest of my being

Adriene Nicastro

forest of my being

spirit is a clear stream

flowing through the

forest of my being

she moves passionately

gently

gurgling & chuckling

a child laughing at herself

in blissful ripples

the rocks of my jagged past

try littering her waterways

temporarily slowing to catch leaves

damning thoughts

downed-tree blockages

cast by my lower self

brown silky ribbons line her bottom

silt disturbed by ducks & dogs

unfamiliar feelings on cloudy days

& wind whipping across her surface

throwing branches

like toddlers with tempers

i let the cool waters

of her essence find me

& weave through passages

long forgotten but ever-present

she echoes in the corners

of my awareness

beams of sunlight

dancing through golden fall leaves

shining away fog & shadows

cold blasts of static

she knows how lost i become

mundane tasks distracting

the daily necessaries of living here

eating & cleaning

fixing & straightening

sometimes dog hears her better

& looks at me with soft eyes

like milky-white crests

rolling over her surface

sculpting rocks &

churning bubbles

to entertain fish

so we go to her

dog & i

longing & struggling mindlessly

wagging & hoping frantically

children distracted by

shoelaces & sticks

& when i enter that forest

my forest

our forest

& hear her gentle whispers

chattering waterways

jumping eagerly

we stand committedly

barefoot in her coolness

cleansed & filled

all at once

Adriene Nicastro

Copyright 2025

from see you in the light