Completing Herself

She had always said,

“He does not complete me.”

With disdain, she said,

“He is not my better half

And I am not his.”

We are whole people.

But when, after two decades,

He up and left,

A gaping wound,

Invisible to the naked eye,

Left her vulnerable.

It would have been better

If the wound was visible,

Bandaged with a white flag.

She thought it was healing well,

But the wound festered.

She tried to fill the emptiness with

Anything that remotely resembled love,

And the wound became infected.

Finally, finally, she stopped trying to fill the wound

With a person who would never be enough.

She looked for herself in the woods.

She looked for herself in the water.

She looked in friendship,

Human and nonhuman furry friends.

She looked to God who opened her arms and held her close.

Finally, finally, she felt completed by all these things:

The constants that had always been there for her.

And the wound healed.

She looked for herself in the woods…

I’ve shared this photo of me before, but it fits so well today, I had to share it again. It was taken by my daughter about 15 years ago.

~~~

Today’s Stream of Consciousness Saturday prompt was:

…“comp.” Find a word that starts with or contains “comp” and use it in your post. Enjoy!

For more streams and SoCS rules, visit our host, Linda Hill, by clicking HERE.

SoCS: Crocs, Gators, and a Birthday Hike

Our Friday prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is “roc.” We are to find a word with “roc” in it or use it as a word all by itself, and enjoy!

Crocodiles are different from alligators. We have alligators here in North Carolina. I’ve seen them at the lake and less often in the creek not far from my house. Alligators are not as aggressive as crocodiles. I have to admit that I researched the differences before starting this stream. I was curious! But I’m still writing in SoCS style and did a minimum of planning. I think that’s the rule.

I used to think there were no crocodiles in the US, but read that southern Florida is the only place where gators and crocs coexist. Crocs have pointier snouts. I guess I thought gator snouts were pointy because that’s how they look in the water. Crocs live in South America and Africa. I’m glad gators aren’t that aggressive, at least to people, but you have to be careful not to let small dogs or cats run around gator territory. Don’t want to think too much about that.

How about this sign?

WARNING: Beware of Alligators

Is that sign just weathered, or did the alligators come up and rub those letters so you couldn’t read them? Why would they do that? Why would I even imagine that? Too much imagination. Let’s move on.

Crocs are a brand of functional shoes. I love my crocs sandals with lots of cushioning. The first pair I had lasted at least two years. Then each pair afterward seemed to last less time. It helps if I don’t wear them to do yoga outside. Seems I need more and more cushioning under my old feet. No more going barefoot. Maybe that’s a good thing. My feet will be a little safer from crocs, gators, and snakes when I go on hikes to the creek or my urban forest.

On Tuesday we went on a birthday hike for my daughter’s 28th birthday to a nature preserve across the bridge in the next county. There were places where alligators might have been hiding. No crocs though. We did see a turtle. (It looked like a turtle, but there was no water nearby so maybe it was a tortoise?) We hiked lots of varied terrain – woods, fields, and swamp. Not many rocks though like up north in the mountains. Glad it was too early for the mosquitoes to be out in force. I’ve only seen a few, but it’s been very dry here lately. It won’t be long…. Anyway, here a few photos from my daughter’s birthday hike.

• 

  The woodsy part

• 

  Field trail

• 

  Turtle or tortoise?

• 

  My granddaughter talking to the turtle

• 

  New growth in an old stump

• 

  Gator Territory

• 

  Cypress trees

• 

  Doesn’t this look primordial?

• 

  When did my daughter get taller than me! She must be on her tiptoes.

~~~

Today’s prompt is brought to you by our SoCS post, Linda Hill. You can find rules and more streams of consciousness by clicking the link below:

The Friday Reminder and Prompt for #SoCS May 22, 2021 | (lindaghill.com)

Safe with the Trees in Pequot Woods

Our prompt for Stream of Consciousness Saturday is: save/safe, brought to us by Jolene Mottern who’s filling in for Linda. Thanks, Joey! You can find the details here:

https://lindaghill.com/2017/10/06/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-oct-617/

Save us from ourselves. From trying to “improve” things that are already great the way they are. Save us from the “developers.” What a strange word that is to me. I like the idea of developing skills, but to “develop” the land often means to pave paradise and put up a parking lot.

I can play that on the guitar without looking at the chords. It’s really easy.

I’m enjoying the trees here in Connecticut where we are visiting family and friends for the weekend, staying in the rural outskirts of the small town my husband refers to as “Hooterville.”  Lots of tree here. No need for a tree museum. I hope we can save them.

Here’s a lovely little piece of woods for hiking. I liked this sign.

Whenever I leave the house, for and errand, and especially when going on a trip out of town, I check the stove more than once. Sometimes more than twice with my ritual of checking each knob: off, off, off, off, off. Safe. Safe. Safe. Safe. Safe. God please keep my house safe. My dogs safe. Safe, safe, safe.  It’s nice to travel, but I also love those days when I don’t have to leave the house at all. Those are rare days. It’s nice to have a balance.

Here are some more pictures from my hike in Pequot Woods:

What do you see?

Thank you for these lovely woods, Miss Lucy. I hope we keep them safe.

…

Here are the SOCS rules:

1. Your post must be stream of consciousness writing, meaning no editing, (typos can be fixed) and minimal planning on what you’re going to write.

2. Your post can be as long or as short as you want it to be. One sentence – one thousand words. Fact, fiction, poetry – it doesn’t matter. Just let the words carry you along until you’re ready to stop.

3. There will be a prompt every week. I will post the prompt here on my blog on Friday, along with a reminder for you to join in. The prompt will be one random thing, but it will not be a subject. For instance, I will not say “Write about dogs”; the prompt will be more like, “Make your first sentence a question,” “Begin with the word ‘The’,” or simply a single word to get your started.

4. Ping back! It’s important, so that I and other people can come and read your post! For example, in your post you can write “This post is part of SoCS:” and then copy and paste the URL found in your address bar at the top of this post into yours. Your link will show up in my comments for everyone to see. The most recent pingbacks will be found at the top. NOTE: Pingbacks only work from WordPress sites. If you’re self-hosted or are participating from another host, such as Blogger, please leave a link to your post in the comments below.

5. Read at least one other person’s blog who has linked back their post. Even better, read everyone’s! If you’re the first person to link back, you can check back later, or go to the previous week, by following my category, “Stream of Consciousness Saturday,” which you’ll find right below the “Like” button on my post.

6. Copy and paste the rules (if you’d like to) in your post. The more people who join in, the more new bloggers you’ll meet and the bigger your community will get!

7. As a suggestion, tag your post “SoCS” and/or “#SoCS” for more exposure and more views.

8. Have fun!

 

 

Dreams of Wild Communion

When I was 12, I loved to roam through the woods.

Sometimes, I’d travel with other “tomboys.”

That’s what my mom called us.

It was a term of endearment.

Other times,  I was lucky enough

to have a dog as my companion.

Rarely, I went by myself.

It was the 60’s and Mom didn’t worry about me

going off by myself for hours.

I followed some paths made by humans

and narrow trails made by deer.

I studied their tracks

and those of a racoon or possum.

Every now and then, I found their bones

And brought them home like treasures.

Once I almost stepped on a big grey snake

as it slithered away from me

to hide in the protective undergrowth.

 

One  spring day,

I walked deep into the woods.

Alone.

I’d  be afraid to go alone today,

but back then, I reveled in the solitude,

taking communion from the trees.

I came to a small stream

Offering up a bed of moss

large enough to spread out on if I wanted to.

The sun fell just right across the green carpet

while the stream itself was shaded by slender branches.

I can almost remember weeping willow tresses

hanging over the stream

from the  opposite side.

 

I lie on my stomach

prop  up on elbows

and look into the water as it flows

around stones and over pebbles.

 

I dip my fingers into the stream

and taste its coolness,

Feel the sun on my back and legs,

I rest my head on the soft moss,

Stretch my arms out on the carpet

Palms open to the earth

and close my eyes.

One ear listens to the hum of insects

The other to the hum of the earth.

I believe I could stay here forever.

 

 

Earth day is April 22. But the earth deserves more than one day. So, here at Anything is Possible, I declare the month of April, Earth month!

For the month of April, I plan to write about the earth.

(I found the top and bottom photos on pixabay. They remind me of dreams and memories. The one of  rocks in the stream was taken in Connecticut.)

Coming Out of the Woods with a Smile

There is such a thing as a good news story.

You might think a two year old who’d been lost in the woods overnight would be found tearful and traumatized. But when Brooklyn Lynn Lilly was found in the woods of Michigan, 22 hours after she wandered off, she came out with a beautiful smile on her face and said:

“I love it in the woods.”

Here’s the story:

http://www.aol.com/article/2014/11/07/police-dog-finds-missing-2-year-old-unharmed-in-the-woods/20990439/?ncid=webmail3

Maybe Brooklyn wasn’t alone in the woods. I believe at least one guardian angel was with her. I like to think maybe  it was a special guardian angel who likes the woods.  I wouldn’t mind trying that job, say, 40 years from now.  And God was with Brooklyn too.

Thank you, God!

Thank you, guardian angels!

Thank you, Jax, the rescue dog who found Brooklyn with help from his human partner!

Being a lover of the woods too, I’m curious to know what Brooklyn saw, what she felt.

Was she a nature girl  before she wandered off? Or did she experience something special on her adventure that made her love the woods?

Where did she get that positive attitude?  Did it help keep her alive? Did it help the love of her guardian angel get through to her?

I wonder who she will grow up to be.

Picture from Pixabay

Stay safe, Brooklyn Lynn Lilly.

There will be time for more adventures when you are a little older.