Lost

The first time I read this, I thought of a whole forest of trees coming to life, like in one of The Lord of the Rings movies. I've read this one many times now. It reminds me of the Pooh philosophy a friend talked to me about. When you're lost, stay still and your path will find you.


Lost

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.

- David Wagoner, from a collection titled Good Poems compiled by Garrison Keillor.