Book of Eucalypt

At the Crossroads of Breath
(C) Book of Eucalypt

I stepped into a kingdom I did not expect.
Crisp greenery rose tall, climbing the river reds
as though it carried secrets,
and flowers in violet, white, and yellow
leaned like lanterns marking a hidden door.

The levee swelled beside the turtle pond,
the water holding silence deeper than stone.
My breath slowed to match it,
each inhale gathering the forest’s weight,
each exhale softening the sound of footsteps
echoing on the broken rock path.

At the fork in the trail,
where one way bent into shadow,
and another widened toward sun,
I whispered a plea:
let the barriers fall away.
Let the way ahead open before me,
not with certainty of the undecided,
but with welcome confirmation of what I feel is true.

The birds called out in acknowledgement as
fairy wrens darted before me and
the trees stood still as witnesses,
and for a moment
I felt the unseen company –
a faerie kingdom listening and the
answer arriving on the gathering force of the wind.