My Secret Garden Poem by Anita Atina

Walking around a familiar path
I hoped and wondered if I would be
Let in to my secret garden today
Will a gateway open, for just a moment!
Would I be quick enough to see it?

Then it appeared suddenly, a wish granted
Hidden among the bushes
Covered with creepers and thorns
Was it always there I wondered
Crawling in, with twigs and thorns scraping

Bleeding and scratched
But the pain is no match
To the beauty that I now see
For I am within the secret garden
That was once my playground, my special place

I wander gratefully
Touching my garden of discovery
Relishing the dewy fresh air, laden with bark and leaf
Moist earth and many growing things
For this heaven may last only a moment

I walk in the mellow light
That filters through the canopy of leaves
From giant trees that line
Its meandering pathways
And lead my steps

I relish the feast around me
Of nature’s bounty in leaves and birds
Chattering squirrels and frolicking dogs
Flitting butterflies and buzzing insects
Playful and light, the day goes by

Why is it getting darker now?
Why does time run ahead
Taking with it, my secret garden mist
Wiped away by an inexorable hand

But shimmering behind closed eyelids
I can still remain, immersed in the beauty
Of what was real, just moments ago
Before reality and light overtake
Echoes of departing beauty and peace