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Sleeping in the Forest (A memorial to Mary Oliver)

That night, I slept beneath the watch of a familiar face, but one which I had not visited for quite some time.    
   
I gazed deep into Mother nature’s nurturing eyes,    
As she held me in her warm embrace    
And so tenderly took me away    
From the bane of my existence,    
'Neath the skirt of a gnarled, giving tree.    
   
Her pockets full of nuts and seeds,    
The fallen fruits of her creation,    
Bestowed so lovingly to me,    
Neatly rested below its gnarled branches,    
An enchanted slumber befell my eyes    
As mother nature’s starry gaze watched over me that night.    
   
Sleeping in the forest,    
I slept a sleep like none before.    
Like a young bird at rest in its earthen nest    
Nestled safe and sound    
Against its mother’s breast    
'Neath the pale, white light of the moon.    
   
Nothing lies between us,    
but my thoughts,    
Fleeting,    
Flitting, like moths taking flight    
Branching out towards the sky    
‘Neath the giving tree that night.    
   
I heard the voice of Mother Nature,    
A sweet serenade of sound:    
A chorus of croaking frogs    
And crickets chirping all around.    
Nature’s hidden wonders whisper    
Ancient wisdom in my ears,    
Sacred secrets of the past,    
Revealed in Her ancient years.    
   
The night, it rose and fell,    
Her words reflected on by the water’s edge,    
There beneath the giving tree,    
She sang sweet melodies inside my head.    
   
Night came and went before my eyes,    
I rose and fell the same,    
By the time the morning sun arose,    
My life had forever changed.


#MaryOliver
Written by NewBeginnings
Published | Edited 27th Jan 2019
Author's Note
A memorial to Mary Oliver's "Sleeping in the Forest," reimagined and rewritten by myself for a poetry competition.
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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