Inspired by a hike in the Smoky Mountains this past spring. I’ve added a local track…

Through steep and narrow paths I forge
Where glacier carved the river gorge

The wind in the forest whispers her name
Woodland creatures praise her fame

While sunlight trickles through the branches
Mountain Mama sits on her haunches

Washed with rain and in torrent bathed
Her overflow becomes a cascade

To quench the forest’s eager thirst
To green the foliage, flowers burst

And where leaves and logs in forest lay
She wears the perfume of loamy decay

Then sunlight fades to purple twilight
Emerge the winged creatures of night

Over moonlit treetops, bat wings flutter
Gently worship Earth, their mother

Before the purple fades on the end of day
I bid mother goodnight and go on my way