Lost
Like Dante I had entered the dark woods unaware. I was hungry, tired and thirsty, and I searched for a stream or a path or even a bit of a clearing. It was difficult to see in the woods, but I kept moving. At last I found a path, an animal trail probably. I decided to follow it, though I didn’t know what animals had made the trail.
Follow the trail you have stumbled upon,
Until you understand the way;
What do seek in the dark woods?
If all seems lost try to pray.
2. A Clearing
As I stumbled along the animal trail, I discovered a little clearing ahead. There was a large boulder on one side, a perfect place for resting, I thought. The boulder was waist high with a flat surface on one side. I walked over to it and sat down. The rock felt cold through my trousers, though I stayed on it and looked around.
Once you have found a clearing,
Rest, but don’t take your ease.
The woods are dark, night is falling;
Listen for the wind in the trees.
3. Signs
As I sat on the rock and surveyed the clearing, I saw a set of animal prints on the grass off to the side. The prints looked as though they were made by a four-footed animal, something like a horse perhaps as the prints were deep and wide. A horse in the woods? I thought. How very unlikely. Suddenly, however, I was aware of a light breeze soughing through the leaves of the trees around me. It sounded almost like a person sighing.
Wind in the trees, a soft gentle sighing,
Like a person was present somehow.
Think not of past or future happenings;
Attend to the moment that’s now.
4. A Glimpse
I looked around rather wildly, feeling frightened and terribly alone. At that exact moment, as I looked into the trees where the trail and animal prints seemed to lead, and perhaps disappear, I saw movement and a flash of white. Some kind of animal, but moving away from me. Whatever it was stopped among the trees and appeared to be waiting for something. I got up and stood in front of the boulder.
Not for nothing we glimpse it,
Not for nothing we see;
Follow the hints you’ve been given,
Into the dark woods, through the old trees.
5. A Decision
Since the creature seemed to be waiting for me, I thought that following it was probably my best option. If there was purpose in my present situation, I thought, perhaps life was not just one random thing after another. I crossed myself and vowed to go to church if I ever got safely out of these woods. Superstitious, I guess. Surely not! The animal, barely visible now in the dim forest light, seemed to be waiting at the edge of reality.
An insight is possible daily,
If one is determined to see;
Light is better than darkness,
Honey is sweet, not the bee.
6. The Creature
The white beast whose rump and tail were mostly visible, swung its horse-like head around to look back at me, apparently. I paused, nonplussed, for in the middle of its white forehead was a gleamingly pointed, large spiraling silver horn. Smaller than a mature riding horse, but still built like a horse, the creature whickered, turned its head to the front and started into the forest wildness before us.
Life is a tangled up jumble
Of emotions, choices and threat.
Use your mind and think clearly;
Avoid waking up in a sweat!
7. The Fork in the Road
I hurried after the creature, surely, unbelievably, a unicorn, who was some distance ahead, but walking slowly enough for me to keep up. When he came to a place where the path diverged into a fork, he chose the one that veered off to the right, of course he did, and when I got there, I followed suit. I looked down to examine the trail more closely; when I looked up again, the unicorn had vanished. What to do?
To follow a unicorn who may not exist
Is a puzzle perplexing at least;
Given the form and the function so far,
You know I will opt for the beast.
8. Chased
Of course, I chose to follow the way the unicorn appeared to have gone, hoping right was right. In the dim forest light I could just make out the trail, though there were no more tracks. I hurried along as best as I could when I heard snarling and roaring somewhere in the distance behind me. Terrified, I ran. As fast as I was, the sounds behind me kept getting closer and closer. I stopped to catch my breath, my heart pounding. I looked back, saw something large and orange in the distance and ran for my life.
It’s not just the lions and tigers that hunt us,
Bears and lynxes and wolves are there too.
I’d fall to my knees and pray for God’s help;
Though running would help more, I knew.
9. Out of the Woods
Just as I thought I was done for, I saw a light ahead of me that moved me to put on more speed. (There’s a pun there, I think; emotion recollected in tranquility leads to snarky insights). Suddenly I burst out of the woods into an open meadow of bright green grass and shining yellow flowers. I tried to look over my shoulder to see how close the pack was, but only heard a bleating kind of yelp, a scream of pain and then silence. I stopped running and glanced behind me; all I saw was a brief flash of white that disappeared into the dark interior of the woods. Prudently, I kept moving away from the woods.
God works in mysterious ways,
Secondary causes prevail.
Exercise love, faith and hope in your life,
And trust that your faith will not fail.
10. The Woman
Looking around past the flowery meadow, at the far edge before me, I saw a young woman coming towards me and some distance behind her, I saw a gleaming white city. The closer she came, the more that I could tell she was exceedingly beautiful. She was wearing a lovely silken blue dress. When she reached me, she gave me her hand and I took it. She had luminous green eyes and a deep summer’s tan.
“Hello,” I said, somewhat shyly.
“Hello,” she said. Her lips were full and red and her ready smile deepened.
“You’ve come to meet me?” I asked.
“Yes,” she replied, lightly laughing.
“Do you know that there is a Unicorn in those woods?” I suddenly asked.
She continued to smile, but she also looked very serious. She thought for a moment as if thinking about nature of my question and the reason for it. Then she answered:
“Yes.”
For every Adam there’s an Eve,
That’s the nature of the plan;
In a City filled with people,
A man might learn to be a man.
