Mark Trager
Forest of Life
Enter in simply enough
On all fours lower than the brush
Darkness staccatoed by small green lights
Silence punctured by cryptic fauna frights
Cicadas scream over the crickets
Each sound grappling through the thickets
The wind moans through the branches
Creaking the arboreal arches’ haunches
Far off hum of unseen worlds
Pinecone falls from jump of squirrel
Lulls and crescendos in every direction
Racket, rhythms reach chaotic unison
Life is nights and days
But from rules often strays
Some nights dabbed with lights that delight and play
Some days littered with shadows that simmer and sway
To the looming trees under Sun’s rays
Provide darkness but also refreshing shade…
But our Forests are full of life
No matter when you look, dull or bright
We run and pray, hide and sing
Cut the trees and count each ring
See when times were full, or times were lean
Look up at massive, powerful beams
Saw storms rage in the spring
Life given, though wild, is a blessing.
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A poem that was included in Figments of Fire: Anthology of Select Poets 2025 which is an physical anthology for poets who reached the semi-finalist group in the 2025 Eber & Wein Publishing National Amateur Poetry Contest.
Published by Eber & Wein Publishing
Published Aug 1, 2025
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