Those days when I would go off by myself
\ninto the woods, grandma\u2019s admonitions
\n\u2018be careful\u2019 \u2018make sure you don\u2019t go too far\u2019<\/p>\n
\u2018Too far\u2019 was never really delineated<\/p>\n
As an only child alone with grandparents
\neach summer, all summer, my independence
\nstruggled to keep pace with my curiosity<\/p>\n
With each passing summer I strayed further
\nfrom the confines of friendships with other kids
\ndifferent grandkids of different grandparents<\/p>\n
Those kids had siblings, cousins, confines<\/p>\n
I had what I needed, filling voids and days
\nwith nature, my own thoughts, inquisitiveness
\nself-taught solitude my badge of honor<\/p>\n
Though I knew each square inch of the woods
\nsurrounding Horseshoe Lake, every leaf-strewn
\ntrail, downed log, sun-soaked clearing to sit<\/p>\n
It was the land that knew me better than I it<\/p>\n
The woods knew when I needed cheering
\nthey brought me birds, scampering chipmunks
\ndays I needed to inspiration \u2013 wildflowers<\/p>\n
Rainy days, other homes feared bored children
\nbut rain spoke to me, rhythmically, joyously
\nvia scent, sound through open windows<\/p>\n
Youthful exploration gave me an understanding
\npeers lacked, a knowledge of things unseen
\na faith I could have never learned in church<\/p>\n
Grandma\u2019s long-ago admonitions to \u2018not get lost\u2019
\nwere heeded, until adulthood, when I had to
\nrecall what was, what I had learned as a child<\/p>\n
When I was lost, I could always get home
\neven if the home was no longer there, as the
\nwoods know you, even when you are lost.<\/p>\n