RIP Poet David Wagoner, and thank you for this poem, my favourite:
“Lost” [by David Wagoner]
Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you
Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,
And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,
Must ask permission to know it and be known.
The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,
I have made this place around you.
If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.
No two trees are the same to Raven.
No two branches are the same to Wren.
If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,
You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows
Where you are. You must let it find you.
— David Wagoner
(1999)
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Published by Karen Joan Watson
Writer and visual artist, former Government of Canada manager in marketing-communications. Current projects on belonging, family genetics (heart), geography and natural cycles of growth and decay. Expressed through eco-art installation, writing fiction, memoir and poetry. Caregivers tale in "Memory and Acceptance: Lessons from my mother" in anthology, Voices of the 21st Century: Conscious Caring Women (22/02/2022 Women Speakers Association, publishers); Heart journey is "The Answer is To Be!" in anthology, Voices of the 21st Century: Resilient Women Who Rise and Make a Difference (2021, Women Speakers Association) - kjwatson.ca
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