Tears in the Forest

Tears in the forest –
I’m with you.

We walked for tops of rolling hills,
And out of sunny patches,
Into cool green ferns.

Someone built steps using logs.
A volunteer, I imagine. I’ve never seen them.

Fifty feet above, the leaves shake,
Making the wind seem loud when it’s only a breeze.

We walk down steps, sweaty. Someone passes,
Someone passes around a water bottle.
We step aside.

My friend in the forest has a phone.
The phone in the forest rings.
The call is about the war – we are at war,
We had all been waiting for the war.

People say it’s a good thing, the war.
I’m with you, with my tears in the forest.