My Soul Walk

by Shawn Ramsey

I struggle to relax as I enter the forest

Fidgety and anxious

Unsure about this assignment

I breathe deeply and close my eyes

I belong here

I remember that now

The birds greet me

As I walk through the forest

Singing happily to me and each other

Six deer cross my path, one by one

The younger ones look at me warily

But Mother tells them not to worry

The woodpeckers dance in air above me

Darting from here to there

Drumming with this tree, then the next

A lone butterfly flirts and flits around me

Pausing for brief moments

Before continuing its search for something

The leaves crunch beneath my feet

Sounding louder than normal

In the silence of the forest

The water laps in and out lazily

As I follow the shoreline

Seeing signs that others are at home here too

I give gratitude and say my goodbyes

Before heading home

But promise to return again

My Soul Walk is the Soul Walk Project of Shawn Ramsey, FTS Certified Forest Therapy Guide, September 2022 cohort.