A man walks through wood and brush,
range, and valley.
Delirious and disoriented

He stopped upon a gentle stream
and as the man bent down to drink,
The stream began to speak.
It told him things,
with a voice that moved so soft and swift.
It told him not to walk
any further than his legs could carry him.

The will of the soul you see,
has a funny way of tricking what you think.
Making you believe
that the mind can transcend
the capacities of bone and muscle.

Oh yes, the brain is strong,
but if your body fell fatigued
then surely not the mind
could carry you along.
So spoke the stream.

A voice now deeper
rough like gravel under foot,
said, look, the ground where leaves were shook.
Beware of what they hide,
Beware the hidden roots.
They snag and grab and wish to trap.
Beware the hidden roots.

Trees seem and speak like friend,
but in the dark of night
they wear different faces.
They laugh, they taunt,
they whisper things above your ears.
I hear them say,
Let us keep him here.



The stream spoke this time, softer like the first.
There was caution in the voice,
wary,
of the man’s impending thirst.
It said to him, the thing he cannot forget.
It reminded him of breath.
Reminded him that each one is borrowed,
traded in like gambling chips
upon one’s cosmic completion.

The laws of dirt and sky do not appreciate
a struggle from their kin;
unable to accept his final breath.
You must be like the wave,
momentarily breaking free
and then when beckoned,
returning to its salty sea.

It was then that the voice grew dim,
overridden by the roar of rapids.
The man’s neck was craned towards a placid eddy;
the “friend” to whom he had spoke.
Yet when he raised his head,
his only friend was birch and oak.
Looking down again,
he saw nothing but a muddied puddle.

A chill ran from spine to toe,
The man knew what was next to come.
Looking through the weave of trees,
he saw the setting sun.
His throat, dry and rough,
tightened and began to close.
It was then that the man looked up,
and his fear went with his gaze,
snuffed out like candles’ flame.

The trees began to speak,
but they were not talking amongst themselves.
The trees were addressing him,
whispering…
Remember, the Teachings of the Stream