Lose Yourself in These Woods by Maggie Kazel

–thanks to Han Shan Poetry Project, Vancouver 2013

You and your children
Vine Maple, English Holly
and your children’s children
Reed Canarygrass
need big old Grandfather
Sitka Spruce
and Grandmother
Red Cedar
We adults in our gold rush
Bitter Cherry, Western Hemlock
forget our need of Old Ones, unless we visit
Dwarf Mistletoe
sit breathe watch walk listen and
Coast Douglas Fir
repeat, as needed
Cutleaf Evergrass Blackberry
Find what is being given there
Red Alder, Beaked Hazelnut
of comforts and cures, in its vulnerable and powerful
Black Cottonwood
in its leaves, limbs, and lowly roots
Enchanter’s Nightshade
is a home worth protecting, is a future worth holding
Salmonberry, Sword Fern
in your hearts, in your hands, under your feet
Three-Leaved Foamflower
for your children, and your children’s children
Piggyback Plant
lose yourself in these woods
Birch
and come to your senses