Searching For Laurel Poem by David McLansky

I've walked this road a thousand times
Know every bend and hill
Here the deer cross and here they bed
And here the stream bank over-spills.

The oldest trees stand to the west
Their thick trunk girth amazes
Wild ivy and the purple grape
Form tunnels and dark mazes

Here coyote and wild turkey tracks
Beneath the raspberry tangle,
Clover and black-eyed Susan’s slack
Abut at every angle.

On this road in early morn
Grey mist rise off the ponds
Dew drips heavy from the leaves
As I pad along.

At midnight stars peak through the branches
Flickering points within the sky
Piercing leaves hung in the darkness
As night owls hoot their haunting cry.

Looking down the lush road foliage
That seems to mourn me as I turn
Am I daft and in my dotage
Or does Nature for me yearn?