my wild forest

walking barefoot upon the grass

in my back yard
the Robins, Blue-Jays and Cardinals
try to impress each other

I think of Eagles nesting in the wild

the osprey and seaguls in the oceans
blue and grey Herons in wetlands
all within the reach of my imaginings

three wild squirrels jump down

from limb to limb on an Oak
that hovers over some tender brush
they skirmish and chatter
letting other tiny rodents know
we are the keepers

I think of Asian tigers

wild hedgehogs and gymnures
in the forests and paddies of Vietnam
roaring and snorting asserting
their reign in their domain

flowers of which were tilled

by my own hand assemble quietly
in my garden and the fountain
splashes soothingly onto man made
basins but its pleasing to my eyes
and baths for my feathered friends

I think of the Cascade and Alberta falls

In the Rocky Mountains where their
prominence befalls them with majesty
and wild flowers grow at their feet
with salmon and carp spewed for the
bear to eat

I look up at the white cotton splayed

azure sky and know that it also hovers
in the same where the oceans
make mile high waves and where
continents still belie supposed civilized hand
so I walk barefoot in my wild forest
on this fine day