the woods waited for her every day
she passed the ancient sickly trees
she felt the wind still with their bated breath
she heard whispers in that wind, hollow
silence screaming desperate pleas
the woods waited for her every day
brittle branches intertwined casting shadows of love
between midnight and morning glories and violets and dawn’s hello
bidding time as she walked on flowers, gathering strength
buttressing last vestiges of hope against the onslaught
the woods, they waited
the woods, they waited
time running and running out as
tenacity teetered and torrents raged
she was their last hope
she persisted
with the strength of a thousand oaks
with the softness of a million petals
with the cooperation of endless vines
with the inspiration living in a forest’s heartbeat
in the woods
in ancient woods
those trees sprouted
new roots and
rejoiced
Image: Meredith Wing
prompts: MLMM First Line Friday, #PoemTrail, #moonmystic, #SeptemberFalls19
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