Craggy Gardens and Craggy Pinnacle - Blue Ridge Parkway
The woods know my thoughts;
Hear my hopes, dreams, and secrets.
They wait to hear yours.
- Christine Johnson
The Story -
Knowing her love of hiking and the outdoors, I asked Christine to consider contributing a post to my blog on one of her favorite hikes. She was hesitant to do so, citing that hiking for her wasn’t about any trail, but the experience and the “thrill of getting out and giving myself over to the hike.” On Wednesday while I was hiking with my sister, I received a message from Christine with a poem of reflection. Christine had spent the day on the Blue Ridge Parkway at Craggy Gardens and Craggy Pinnacle near Asheville, immersed in the trail and her experience. What I received from Christine below is not only truly beautiful but also full of hope and emotion. Take a moment and read it, you will be glad you did.
Reflection -
A place of worship without four walls
Cathedral bowers seemingly touch the sky
Home to creatures great and small
It feels the weight of passers-by.
Change upon change comes sweeping in
On purpose, accident, or circumstance
Convened at times by man’s fiery sin
Its flickering lips kiss and dance.
So man steps in and wages war
Against a foe, he seeks to vanquish
While others say a silent prayer
To calm their fears, ease their anguish.
Scars run deep in that scorched earth
Raging waters have changed the view
Wood and forest death brings rebirth
To fauna and flora that spring anew.
The trail holds secrets, hopes, and dreams
Of travelers whose presence it beholds
On mountains, by valleys, coves, and streams
Of celebrants both young and old.
To this house of worship daily go
Fully surrender heart and mind
The plaintive cry calls, “walk it slow”
Take only memories, leave nothing behind.
About Christine -
Christine Johnson a lifelong lover of the outdoors and the mountains. She has traveled and hiked the Appalachians for over twenty years. Not too long after she retired from teaching, her dreams of living in the mountains became a reality. She spends most days out on the trail observing the natural world, befriending trail dogs, chatting up fellow trail wanderers, and surprising the occasional mountain biker.
Sassafras and Skinks