I did not know
you were speaking.
Your voice
across Mink Lake
and under that
Red Pine tree
and through that
grey granite
stretched out
in the sun.
Even now
after 20 years
and further along
the path I
look back
and recognize
what I
did not
understand.
The unbroken
expanse of
northwood pines
created in me a
space of quiet.
A stillness
finally ready
to listen.
I’ve said
for so long
that it was
the trees.
It wasn’t
the trees
or the lakes.
It wasn’t
the loons.
It was
the quiet.
And I’ve
only just
seen that
now.
Thank you.