A flash of brighter green
In a field of dry grass
Vivid eyes, focused and clear
Reeds sway in the Zephyr Steppes
Borne on strong breezes

Calm face and sturdy footing
Dappled like the sun stained grass
Paper lanterns blow in the clear sky
Whoever said that Tundras couldn't know the wind
Couldn't know the directions it blows in?

Skydancers and Spirals don't
Own the skies after all
And he has always known the wind
The different scents
How the scent of the sea blows in from Water
And the breeze is bitter cold when it comes from Ice
How the smell of white hot metal
Makes the air so hot

Life grows in a swamp
The croak of frogs and the chirp of crickets
The sway of cattails in the breeze
The bend of soft, sweet, grass
Mossy puddle
Rich with life

Sweet smell of rot, of plant decay
The buzz of insects,
Zip of dragonflies hunting for a meal
Lily pads float lazily
While a heron stalks its prey

Tadpoles wiggle in the mire
Sunlight warms the green water
There's something about the life of a swamp,
The deep mud,
And deeper waters

Still waters run deep
Has always been the saying,
And rolling stones gather no moss
But here the still waters are shallow
And the stones are thick with moss - even though they roll
Every part is touched by light
And warmth

Glittering light picks highlights off the water
Catches the stir of algae,
As a pike breaks the surface
A turtle on a rock, limbs spread out
Butterflies gather on low branches
Hanging moss

Can you hear the birdsong?
The whir of hummingbird wings
Bees buzz 'round a busy hive
There are dryads nearby
Keeping watch over
The bright little fen

Cascade of flowing vines
Mushrooms pushing through soft logs
The movement half glimpsed,
From the corner of your eyes
Cicadas buzz and hum softly then loudly
Lichen grows on damp rocks

They say that moss only grows
On the left sides of trees - or was it the right?
Pillow soft and dew beaded
Nature's cushion
Nature's stage for a round fairy ring
Secluded den

A centaur moves beneath the trees,
Dappled skin glowing
In yellow green light
Dainty steps
And the growing of things

I feel like
I'll have the crescent marks
Of my fingernails
Embedded in the skin
Of my palms
When this over

Awareness of everything
Is pressed against
The backs of
My eyelids
I close them and I
Can hear the buzz
Of my thoughts
Trying to escape my head

Before this - there was a job
And busy days, and things to plan
Now I am weightless, restless
Trying to carve out
A routine out of this stillness
It's like the world
Is holding It's
Breath
And it is

There is anger inside me
I feel it pressing
On my lungs
And at the base of my throat
I am angry at this world
And all it has pressed upon me
I feel like a ghost
In my own home
There is an invasion happening
And everything is changing

I feel like....
Things were stolen from me
My birthday, my peace
And quiet
I have taken to wandering
Hitting the pavements
Visiting the ducks to tell them
My troubles
There is no sanctuary left here

For once I long for stillness
For once I long for a break from everything
There have been so many
Changes
There have been so many upsets
There have been deaths,
Flooded bathrooms,
Pet scares, heart attacks
Hospital stays
Four months spent house sitting
Cane spiders,
There is a pandemic claiming so
Many lives

I am exhausted -
Sick of listening to
End of the world playlists
I am done with Doomdays and Fever Dreams
And Modern Tragedies
I feel as if I am not entitled
To wanting to spent a few minutes alone
I just want quiet
To go to the library and find new books
I just want this to end
And it will
If we play it right

But there is no going back now