Soft Sell Pathways

By J.M. Carlstad

I give thanks

For the breeze

I sense in the trees

That he sends me…

My eyes roam

Over the lichens and forest floors

Mentally hiking across pine ridges

Absorbing the woodlands, hills and roving highways of the north

I revel in the river

The banks of the Peace

The Kiskatinaw and Pouce

The rippling waters of wonderment

Where he takes me

Sharing the rainbows

Of a summer storm

I bask in its sparkling colors

And shrug off the chill of the day

One night

He sent me the moon

And I sent it back

Before we said “Good Night”…

He holds the music

Of my soul

In the heart of his hand

Embracing support

Beckoning for understanding and truth

In brief words that

expose realities of the day

For life within life

And nature within our Nature

Realization through the air waves

…of the future

 What is here

Is real

What is here

Is the truth

And I hold it in the palm of my hand

Like the grains of sand

Trickling across this track-strewn beach

I follow the curve of the knots

In this weather-worn wood

And caress the smooth bark

Of this branch of peace he hands me

Thinking of its life in another time

This aspect of life and living,

 in another time,

and I look to the sky in wonder…

Through feathers of the forest

Rocks of river beds and oceanside

Driftlogs set afloat on dreams

Mirrors of music

I face my reflection and wonder…

I’m sending him a mountain lake now…

That he may bask in its serenity and depth of thought

And find peace along his journey

The journey that we all share

In this life…