In the early morning stillness of the forest
Following a moss-covered woodland road
We step softly moving slowly as we listen
To hear the birds calling hidden in the foliage.
Red efts in the leaf litter invite a closer look
Wriggling away from my camera lens
A remarkable life cycle for these juveniles
Destined to return to the water as adults.
The ground features a mosaic of moss and lichens
Sprinkled with twigs and needles and acorns
Covering the ancient bluestone rocks quarried here
Centuries ago when horsepower pulled wagons.
Four tiny pastel blue petals around a yellow core
Clusters of bluets sprouting up along the margins
Decorate the scene as we make our way past
Far from the concerns of the present day crisis.
We are walking on the ocean floor sediment
Deposited millions of years before people evolved
Crushed under inexorable metamorphic pressure
Lifted up and then eroded away over the eons.
This is the perspective seen when stepping back
Though what goes on in our world matters very much
Demanding our efforts to make right all that is wrong
We take our measure as well in this larger context.
