(written nov. 2001)

the burning desire
the frustration
the needed escape.

finally, they found a place
all their own
and yet not their own—
which was how they wanted it.
it was even legal;
it was even “recognized” as theirs.

they came to know it
they came to know each other
and they came to know Life.
they came to know Nature Herself,
as best they could—
they knew Her
as a Christian knows God.
only She was concretely around them,
always
and they loved Her in every way.

this place
this land
this,
one of the few sanctuaries their spirits could find.
it was safe
it was Right.
and they made it their own,
in their own way
where it was not their own.

carefully, the Earth allowed them
to prepare a piece of her body
to sustain themselves on.
carefully, they tilled it
and carefully, they spread Her seeds
carefully, they tended to them
and carefully, they took them unto themselves
for their benefit.

night and day,
season after season,
they lived in community with Her.

and one day,
as they womyn walked ahead of the man
in the forest,
experiencing another of Nature’s moments,
she collapsed to the mossy forest floor
with a single loud noise

and the man came running
a million twigs snapping under his feet
(as he closed the distance between them)
but closer from the east another crashing sound came
the womyn could not lift herself to discover its source
it came straight at her
and stopped
a strange face peered down at her,
reflecting fear
and yet this fear was not hers
hers was only the immense
unquenchable
sadness
of one who Understands

and she stared up at this fearful face
as her nutrients flowed back unto the Earth
and tried to convey a lost message

and the man arrived, and fell by her side
weeping tears that would never run dry

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