An Impression of Walden

Paddling into the emptiness

I make my way into the clearing before me

The moon radiates its brightness

And brings light to the world below

The fireflies are like stars

Moving in the distant trees

Swirling and creating designs not known to me

In the middle of the lake I recline in my row boat

A small piece of tranquility in this world filled with war

It brings calmness to my heart

And relaxes the pounding muscles

But the measure of love forever

And the curing of heart ache

Won’t find themselves here

Clouds drift slowly by

And block the moon for a moment

But among dreams and reality

I slip into unconsciousness

And lose all grip of the world

As day breaches its silence

I hear nature stir

The birds awaken with songs to find love

And I open my eyes to watch the rising sun

In the distance I see the world in which I live in

Sky scrapers, trains, subways, buses, cars, pollution

Computers that run our lives and televisions that we never leave

Crushed dreams, broken hearts, down trotted and failures

Empty promises and thoughts of redemption

And behind me I see the world I have entered

Nature so pure it has never been scarred by humans

No chaos, destruction, wars or tyranny

No leaders of deception or followers of vengeance

Only the sky and the earth

The water and the sun and the moon

I paddle on and dock on the receding shore

I pull my small boat to dry land and walk into the densely populated forest

I watch a war of ants and see the closing statements of rain

The constellations at night seem to move in a dance as they pass across the sky

And welcome the inevitable morning

I have tasted failure, and every type of emotion

The world has turned away from me

So here, on this rock I will rest my head

And dream a world more like the purity of nature

Before man has destroyed it

I embrace you, Walden

For you have brought life back to living

And dreams back to the sleepless