Where the Bough has Broken
Again into the woods and the shadows, where the cool airs hang undisturbed, and the glinting sunlight sends golden beams earthward to inspirit the pregnant peat, coaxing forth new life and innocent expressions of colour. Again into the unfrequented sanctuary, the grey hollows and the dignified silence of the countryside, where dreams have space to coalesce into tangible hopes, propelling one to renewed vigour for existence. Again into the tenebrous vistas and along the rain soaked paths, with the branches of oak and elm like great curtains shielding my path from the intrusion of reality, like stupendous angel wings protecting my ungainly and infirm mind from the trauma of enforced normality and the acknowledgement of my own certain damnation.
The squirrels and badgers and dormouse are the vivacious keepers of this vast citadel, dressed in dun and grey and brown, investing life to this palace of tranquillity, this contemplative haven where naught of avarice and greed may find a lease. Still it has its representation of the devilish in the red foxes that go scurrying through the underbrush in guilty haste, peeking over their shoulders in disgruntlement and hurrying to their next crime. The tawny owls stay aloof in the hollows of the trunks of the trees, keeping their distance from the intrusive spectres of humanity that presumptuously enter this hallowed space. I deem the owls to hold a Druidic wisdom and hermetic knowledge, which the seasons invest over time, and which they discuss in private when the solstice moon sings its pristine odes over the dales.
The other birds are endowed with a sartorial prettiness and endearing daintiness, an ineffable beauty I typically fail to elucidate aptly. I love them with an infinite zest, their presence lifting me from my maudlin meditations to rediscovered happiness and good cheer. The spotted woodpecker, dapper in red and black, the Eurasian jay, dashed with teal, the treecreeper in her puffy coat and the sparrowhawk gliding in predatory grandeur. These are the counsellors that would administer a saving sanity and egress from depression. Again, by their grace, I am able to continue in hope…
