Restless Poem by Maurice Rowlands

I've wandered too deep into the forest
Something is coming towards me
I'm not afraid
It means me no harm
It is just as part of the forest
As I am

Is it the soft cooling breath of a zephyr?
Is it the spirit of that fallen oak tree?
Is it the tinkling musical notes of a nearby stream?
Or those distant church bells I once heard in a dream
Perhaps it's a confetti cloud of tiny dandelion clocks
Or the lost nettle stings I just felt through my socks
Or the faraway cries of the baby squirrel
Whose mother was attacked by a fox

Could it be the ghost
Of that oddly coloured toadstool
I accidentally stepped on back there?
Could it be the song of a woodland faerie?
Or just the cinnamon sweet scent of her hair?

Whatever it is
It means me no harm
It is just as part of the forest
As I am

Maybe, just like me
On this crisp, chilly morning
It has no reason

I sense no warning

Pass by me, my travelling friend
To me, you've no need to confess
I think, maybe like me
You're simply just
restless