I Cried…

[image error]I cried in the woods today.

It would have been easy

to blame

the droplets sliding down my cheeks

on my eyelashes

overburdened

and saturated with dew

from the heavy morning fog.

But that would have been

a half-truth.

Mixed with that moisture

was the salt of my fears.

It would have been easy

to blame

the droplets sliding down my cheeks

on the sting

of hanging smoke

from early morning campfires.

But that would be

a half-truth.

Mixed with that sting

was the salt of my burdens.

It would have been easy

to blame

the droplets sliding down my cheeks

on a grain or two

of sand.

But that would be

a half-truth.

Mixed with that irritant

was the salt of my shortcomings.

It would have been easy

to blame

the droplets sliding down my cheeks

on any

of these things.

But that would be

a half-truth.

I simply cried in the woods today.

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* I don’t write much poetry anymore. But for some reason I was moved to put most of this down while in the woods running and biking at Starkey Wilderness Park this morning. Luckily I was out there working on a course for an event I produce, so I had pen and paper with me for jotting down notes on distance and trails.

I completed the poem here at home.