The darkness of the crowded wood With limbed roof too thick for sun, Clutches all that wanders in, Exhaling the plead to run. But once caught in that unpleasant shadow Escape is hard to find, For the trees have only one thought- Games must be played with your mind. Things that are there, are not; Things that are not, are. The trees whisper their words of wonting, Leaving their luring doors ajar. Limbs becomes snares to enclose; Roots rise to catch you unaware. Your mind becomes a mental maze, Feeling there’s more than you can bear. But with time you begin to see The games the trees have designed. And with time you begin to learn How to construct and control the mind. So skillfully you turn the board, No longer the pawn, now the player, Revealing the things that are and are not, You begin to escape layer by layer. Slowly and carefully you find a way To evade the desperate forest. Finally one day you do break through, Knowing the trees you ably coerced.
©1986 Kelly L. Hartley
Kelly L. Hartley, a new author, writes Bible studies, devotions, fiction, and poems. She focuses on Bible contradictions for her “Spare Time Musings” on Substack. She’s a member of Ozark Chapter of American Christian Writers and Springfield Writer’s Guild. Social media: Substack, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.