Earth Pathways Showcase

The sun surrenders, swallowed into the belly of the Earth, and homeward bound I enter the woods. Indigo ink spilt on the eastern skyline seeps imperceptibly into space. The first stars stipple the twilight, diamonds on darkening velvet. Is the forest wilder at night? I shiver as the owl’s hoot heralds the hunting hour; their prey busy below the creaking canopy, scuttling through humus, rustling dry leaves, snatching furtive snacks. Trees with crooked crowns huddle, smudge their shadows into murky curtains, confer in covert whispers, and hide mysteries beneath their skirts. The forest wafts moths from its woven walls, exhaling a tang of night-time – sharp, crisp, cold, musky and sweet: soil, leaf mould, moss and birch breath. Genetic memories remain, stirring fear of long-gone creatures in the dark. Once the domain of wolf, lynx and bear, now deer run rampant; stags’ bellows shake boughs, loud enough to stun hinds into submission and send shivers down my spine. Thriving lives, spectacles of Nature’s elegant embroidery, perform for an arboreal audience, gathered beneath midnight’s cloak. I reach the comfort of home and hearth, bewitched and enriched by the forest at night.

The Forest at Night © Geoff King 2023