The Path is Made by Walking

[alycewilson]

This is my entry for LJ Idol. The topic this week is "The Path is Made by Walking."

'The Path is Made by Walking'

Ahead, because she must always
lead, my sister's bitty
chihuahua forged through
Indiangrass and Little Bluestem,
nosing ahead and making muddy tracks.
My sister, holding the thin leash, savored
the chance to use her naturalist skills.
She pointed out American hogpeanut,
with its edible tubers. (I found
a Stinging Nettle, by accident.)

We pushed through underbrush, ankles
lashed by nettles on the Eastwood Meadows
trail. Visions of languid grasses,
spotted with vibrant flora,
evaporated the moment we ventured
from the overgrown access road onto
the weed-choked trail.

Our kids, curious at first, soon soured
on the adventure. Bushwacking
did not appeal to them. They wanted
open spaces, a sky abuzz with bees
and butterflies. Wild bouquets
of Cornflowers and Oxeye Daisies.
What they'd been promised. Not
this dense brush, with its narrow
vestige of footpath. With a measure

of relief, we turned around. We fought back
to the car, exchanged the prickly grass
for fantasies of wooded glades
we would seek again tomorrow.



I took this photo of white fungus on a mossy log in front of dense green trees in the Allegany State Park where the hike in this poem took place.

Comments

[mollywheezy]

Beautiful photo! I'm with your kids, LOL. I'd rather walk in an open space, or even better, a botanical garden. ;)

[adoptedwriter]

So descriptive. Nice photo.

[muchtooarrogant]

I loved this, especially, "Our kids, curious at first, soon soured
on the adventure." Yeppers, been there, lived that! LOL

One of the things I really enjoy about your poetry is that it tells an unambiguous story. Sure, poetry with mysterious/multiple meanings can also be fun, but me, I'm a sucker for a well told story!

Great entry.

Dan

[reidharriscooper]

If we were dogs I bet we'd enjoy every second of both the overbrush and the open fields. And I'm sure some humans would too. Me, I don't even care for nature, unless its nature destroying modernism creating a dualistic ruins look giving all three worlds.

You captured an image here very well in words.

[roina_arwen]

I love the phrase "languid grasses" - we grasses, we just be chillin' here. :)

Awesome photo!

[erulissedances]

Wise kids - LOL.

- Erulisse (one L)

[bleodswean]

I don't care for bushwhacking much myself. D carries this exquisite Japanese machete, or short knife, and revels in it. I'm all for the meadows or wooded trails.

[static_abyss]

That picture is beautiful. What I wouldn't give to be surrounded by all that greenery.

[tonithegreat]

The thing about spending a whole lot of time exploring new natural places: Every spot isn’t going to wind up being a spectacular favorite. But I love how you captured the spirit of going for an enjoyable ramble anyway.

[fausts_dream]

Chihuahua's must always lead, to assume otherwise is a fatal mistake.

Thats actually the best possible intro. Stylistically this is almost a nature walk, I didn't know what I would find but enjoyed the journey.

[swirlsofpurple]

Adore the descriptive imagery here, a lovely poem

[murielle]

It sounds wonderful! I love being with people who know about what's growing and living around them. Now. That I'm older. As a kid not so much. 😊

[halfshellvenus]

(I found a Stinging Nettle, by accident.)
Unfortunately, I think that is USUALLY the way they are found. :(

I can understand why that was not particularly fun for the kids. They have less of a sense of "This path leads somewhere, probably for a reason" (the way a adult might have), and so there's only the experience of the process. And if the process itself isn't fun for them...

[rayaso]

I loved the image of the little dog leading the way! And the photograph was lovely.