Rest Step

Don’t take a walk,
give one.

Barefoot or shod,

pause ever so briefly
as your sole
presses its soft
center on the earth.

Hikers call this
the rest-step.

It is like a prayer

at the heart of all going.
It is a way to remember
that even on the
steepest trail,
we don't really ascend.

The planet listens

to the wandering harmony

of your mind,
breath, and body
as you pathlessly meander

in trillium silence,

not arriving, just caressing

the loam.

 

Photo: I took this in the frosty Carbon River rain forest, Mt. Rainier