I roam these woodlands; I know my way. The scent dusts of ferns and chanterelles guide me; nose to the ground, yet my chin is lifted. With focus and presence, there’s always enough.
The scent dusts of ferns and chanterelles guide me. New sprouts, vines reach for the clouds with focus and presence. There’s always enough. The foxglove and pocket mouse attempt to distract
new sprouts. Vines reach for the clouds. Their effort my reminder to dig beneath the layers, the foxglove and pocket mouse. Attempt to distract, signal that the fire-hollowed trunks reveal my fate.
Their effort my reminder. To dig beneath the layers the monarch’s wing brings me back. Signal that the fire-hollowed trunks reveal my fate but as I roam these woodlands, I know my way.
Lauren Oertel is a writer, editor, and community organizer based in Austin, Texas. She is a writing workshop facilitator certified in the Amherst Writers & Artists method. Her work has been published in Black Fox Literary, The Westchester Review, Gemini Magazine, The Sun Magazine, and more. She has been a winner and finalist in poetry, fiction, and nonfiction contests with The Letter Review, Writer’s Digest, Prime Number Magazine, and others. Lauren is the coauthor of the book Inside Out: A Texas Prisons Poetry Story, and her debut full-length poetry collection, Scars & Other Luxuries, is forthcoming with Finishing Line Press in November.
