I’ve been steadily making my way through Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass for the first time ever..thanks to Matthew for the recommendation! He has two amazing newsletters here on Substack that you should check out if you haven’t already:
Throughout Walt’s book, there are so many stanzas and small combinations of words he uses that serve as inspiring prompts for my own writing. Some even remind me of specific places that live in my head, like Muir Woods. That old-growth coastal redwood forest is one of my favorite places to visit but sadly I do not go there as much as I should. Each experience I’ve had out there is undoubtedly life-changing and refreshing to say the least. And with the help of other’s creativity, I am able to revisit that magical place in my head from time to time.
Do you take it I would astonish?
Does the daylight astonish? or the early redstart
twittering through the woods?
Do I astonish more than they?
In Darkness, In Light
hopefulness is showered by the morning glow of the sun
birds communicate, shadows form, a new day fills in
the winding road on top of the hill is a world away
from the dampened soil—where other microcosms thrive
protected by the seedlings and the trees’ decaying leaves
the question still persists: what is dark? and what is light?
Beautiful my friend! This sounds like a magical place 😍