The stream pouring out of thick vines
         Fords the path in the place
Where the trees have thinned
         To let sunlight onto the forest floor.
 
Walk beside the flow and chance
         Upon a handsome buck
Standing tall in his river
         Alert to changes in motion;
The stillness startles him
         And he lopes off into the woods
         
Rest upon a rock while
         Cicadas, screeching loud love,
Land all around
         What path leads them through
Long slumbers bursting brilliantly
         Into brief chaos?
         
Where a rivlet enters the stream
         The path ends.
There is life in the forest
                  that cannot be seen
There are songs in the air
                  that cannot be heard
And the river carries them
         As it flows beyond the bend.

©Mark S. Richards, Maynard, MA, May 2003