nature center

i live among the cattails

the tall willowy weeds

i live inside the woods

with the sparrows and the chickadee-dee-dees

i love within the nettles

stinging clinging biting

the twigs break beneath my step

the raspberries are not ripe

hard and bitter and small

i am warned

the pathways wind and curve and curl

aimless in their wanders

while the water sits undisturbed

i am the water beetle

scooped up in a cup

poked and prodded and looked at

before carelessly tossed back

the wild flowers on a hill

pink and purple and blue

are where i want to be

i want the breeze to carry me

a gust of hopeful plans