A Pond

Lost I walk alone 

On a path that's been trodden

Many footprints faded

Ferns swaying 

Zephyr brushing my hair

Icy blankets wrapping me from within

Barefooted I walk forth

Fireflies dot the scene 

Before me a pond

I walk to the bank seeking

Want a good look at who I am

Like a mirror 

That reflects, what's right as left

And left is right

My face so lost

Among the flowers

Petals soft, dragonflies flutter

Their wings as clear

Not as my thoughts

Yet of the spectacle before me

A fish swims by in the pond

My hand feels for it

Scales as slimy

Swings away swiftly

Water's cold. Hard. Still. 

Ripples muddle my face

No more a reflection in that pond

I get up and walk away 

Back into the wilderness

Home where there is no clearing 

Only woods where I seek it 

Never to be back again 

To that pond with a lone fish