Earth Pathways Showcase

A silence in the wood,
Rot-scented and ember-leaved.
I alone make offerings
Of lichen and feathers.

Rain-black trees,
Diamond-blanketed, and
Singed with Autumn fire,
A slow steady stripping of summer.

In the strange stillness,
In the bird-less heart of the wood
A quiet gateway hangs open,
Air suspended; seeping otherness.

The Autumn wraiths drift in
Lurking, mist-limbed, dumb,
A perishing in their wake,
Gifts of ice and death to come.

October © Nerissa Shaw 2015

I dream of dark, cold soil as my bed,
Sinking deep for winter’s rest.
Let fibrous roots weave through my bones,
Fed by rot and feeble light,
‘Til warming earth and blackthorn’s lace
Stir me to awake.

Regeneration © Nerissa Shaw 2014