The Path Through the Trees – A Poem

I am standing

in front of the forest.

The path is different this time,

laid with precious stones

among the cobblestones.

As the sun moves above me,

the light hits one of the stones

at my feet and I can see

that it is a moonstone.

I know that when I enter the trees,

the night will rule.

Standing there,

the trees beckoning,

their leaves welcoming me

to come inside,

I feel like Alice in Wonderland

as she watches the white rabbit

when it slips into the hole

and she chooses to follow.

I stand at the edge of the forest

Wondering where it will take me.

Staring at the pills in my hand,

I feel even more like Alice

and I wonder whether these pills

will make me shrink smaller

or grow larger.

They seem so small,

yet they are full of a magic

all their own. I just wish

I knew what that magic would do.

There is the call of a bird

from within the leaves of the trees.

The sun moves overhead again

and another stone on my path

is lit as if from within.

I can see obsidian and quartz

and I can make out an amethyst

not too far ahead.

I take a pill,

and I can feel the pill start its journey

within me. I nod as if to remind myself

that I can do this.

I have done this before.

Beside me,

my husband takes my hand,

squeezing it to give me strength.

“We’re in this together,” he says.

“You are not alone in the dark.”

I nod to show I understand

and I squeeze his hand,

as if to remind him of the words

that I cannot speak.

He nods to show that he understands.

When I take that first step,

letting the leaves of the trees

bush against my face,

I know that I am not alone

and that makes the light within me

burn brighter than any sun.

We take another step

and though I know that this path

will be a long one,

it will be a journey that we share

together and that holds a magic

all its own.