July 17*

at dusk
in the woods

i try to move
within the energy
of the place, of the trees

where my sound
belongs

where i don’t intrude
frighten

where i am invited in
to the next space

i find
i cannot go
slowly enough

standing still
is too fast

i have to back up
          wait     —

there.

*Copyright 2010 by Luther Allen. This poem appears in The View from Lummi Island.