A Hand, A Heart – A Poem

I find it hard to believe that I’m here again.

I’ve realized that I’ve never really left

the forest, merely wandered to the edges of it

so that I could keep its leaves and branches

in my sight. As I’ve circled,

the shadows have moved and shifted,

changed with time, but they have remained.

There have been times where I wondered

if it would be easier to let the leaves

of the blood trees slide across my skin

to mark my journey instead of the passage

of time. As I stand here in the midst of the trees,

that whisper so loud within, I find myself

turning around in circles, trying to ignore

the voices that whisper in the dark,

urging me to walk into the shadows

and not look back. I keep trying to find

an exit, but how can I find one

when the forest has been within me

all this time? A hand reaches in

through the shadows making the leaves

rustle and complain and when the hand

reaches my own, it gabs hold and pulls me

through the shadows, away from within,

towards home and my heart. I know that

the trees are still within, but I will find a way

to lessen the whisperings so that

I can hear the beating of my own heart

and find my way home again.