Smell the dank, dark soil
of the cracked river bottom
and enter nature’s grasp, your
tromping boot soles sinking
into mud. See the flames of
autumn ivy spread near your path
beside the water’s forced banks,
straightened, pooling in
memories of where it once was.
Savor the warmth of sun reaching
through enchanted branches
and waking up creatures dulled
by coolness of night.
Find the caterpillar on a stem
and the birds in the branches. Listen
to the Brown Creeper as he climbs
and the low chatter of song sparrows
among red berries. Watch for the last
serenade of small frogs, for paths
that lead through growths
of lizard tails. Poke your finger
in the mouth of a false snapdragon
and lightly stroke the prickles
on a pudgy cucumber—-baby hedgehog
of the plant world. Walk around
beaver-chewed trees
and a cavernous sycamore. Follow
your guide into the hollow
womb carved by floodwaters, into
darkness that suckles a cacophony
of DNA. Hold the slim green
song of a bush cicada
and the shadow of a clear weed.
Hold the song and the shadow–
hold them in Rainbow’s Bend
till they become the flight
of a bald eagle
circling above the Wabash
on a wind river in the sky.
Collaborative Poem by Shari Wagner’s 10-12-19 workshop.
“Writing Poems at Ceylon Covered Bridge and Rainbow Bottom.”
Beaver chewed tree
A touch of autumn
Caterpillar
Wild cucumber
Wabash River at Rainbow Bottom
Song sparrow by Kimberley Roll
Bald eagle in flight by Kimberley Roll
Guide naturalist Curt Burnette at one of the giant sycamore trees in Rainbow Bottom.
Ceylon Covered Bridge. Poetry group is exploring the area with a morning hike on October 12 2019.
Friends of the Limberlost 