A Nature's Journey Poem by Winston Soldevilla

Plop! There I
Standing above the leaf that floats
On that misty river where there were no boats:
Guarded from bank to bank twenty paces think I,
Hundred twenty miles below the sky,
Straight-up trees of shadowy woven races up high
I and only I alone was there.

Deep silence, the river was:
Mine eyes have seen,
Mine ears have heard,
Fluxing leaf to nowhere,
Out unknowingly what would come near to stare?

Seven fifty two, my shadow whispered to me,
And it was an early morning as my eye can see.
My body quivered and chilled,
Feeling forest coldness still,
Finding its way to my very own flesh.
I down lay my body
Conquering mine flesh weaknesses,
While the leaf where I rode swam its way through.

In this moment of coolness,
The river stood calm and quiet;
Seemingly murmuring messages
of tranquility to its surroundings.
I contemplated and commune then,
Feeling the vibrations of its messages,
While the leaf where I rode swam its way through.

Mine eyes were closed as it was been when
“It is eight eighty-eight.”
My shadow whispered again.
Feeling the heat of the gliding sun
As it flapped its wings upward,
Slapping its ray’s from the horizon’s isle,
Smiting it to the woods and water with bile,
While the leaf where I rode swam its way through.

I kneeled down stripping off
Right leaf edge of about two square feet
Serving head’s veil for the sun’s heat;
Then, crossed-legged, sat I,
As my eyes look downward to the water
That vied to the speed of the leaf
While the leaf where I rode swam its way through.

Chirping birds caused noise.
Shrill it was! Deafening!
Entered mine ears gate
Brought commotion to my nerves
Disturbing my contemplation
With the tranquility of the water,
While the leaf where I rode swam its way through.

The annoyance of the chirping bird’s noise
Had made my eyes woke up, my mind opened.
I gazed around.
Not far from me I saw,
Roots of shrubs crawling like snakes,
Slipping their way to hunt their preys on the ground.
I asked my mind then, “Shall I dock? ”
And she answered back ”Why not dock? ”
As a paddle I used my hand
Turning leaf’s direction to the east of the river.

Approaching the river bank,
The leaf in my surprised sank.
Slowly, like a canoe wrecked by a river rock.
I knew not why the leaf sank.
I knew not why there was an obstruction.
I have not seen any
When I turn the leaf’s direction to the east of the river.

Splash! There, I fell down,
Causing disturbance in water’s tranquility.
Not waiting for any specie,
To eat mine flesh I quickly,
Swam as fast As I could,
To make sure that I should,
Be saved from the anger,
Of the inhabitants of the river.
For the serenity of their kingdom
Was disturbed when I fell down
And swam my way to the east of the riverbank.

I reached the riverbank with a breathtaking moment.
There I took my rest under a shadowy tree.

I looked back to the water.
But, it was serene again.
I looked up the sky and noticed then,
It was already sixty eight seconds to eleven.

I sat down.
I took the moment of nap for the next journey,
While resting my back on a shadowy tree.

After a refreshing moment of rest under a shadowy tree,
My feet said to me, “Let’s take a walk. Let’s finish the journey.”

Pace after pace, I treaded the pathway.
Ah! As I trod it, I met a leafy surrounding
So verdantly nourished.
Foggy water dropped in every leaf.
There, I sought refuge for the next long journey.

After a short pause of refuge,
I trod and found myself walking in a cavern.
A stairway leading upward caught up my sight.
The flights and landings welcomed me with delight.
My feet moved upward and downward alternately
Trying to reach the stair’s end of the line.

Nearing destiny, pelting stalactites crashed on my way
Leaving me bruises of dismay.
In an eyewink of a moment, with great pluck,
I limped over obstructed stairway
With pelting stalactites hindering me once in a while.
Along the way I said to me, “ THIS IS LIFE! ”