I was scheduled to run today, three miles or thirty minutes,

Bright blue sneakers, yellow stripey socks

The soft persistent hiss of the wind overhead, whispering

“Come in, come see, we’ve been waiting for you.”

I walk fast to warm up, tired legs seeking strength,

Arms pumping, heart pulsing

The May-apple waves up at me, beckoning

“Slow down, look closer, see my hidden bloom.”

I begin to jog, busy mind an inventory of obligations,

Eyes unseeing, breath starting to burn

The zebra swallowtail alights on black cohosh, reminding

“Gracefully pause, gratefully pause, spare a moment.”

I find my stride, one foot following the next,

Smacking feet on compact soil, centuries of footfalls below me

A well-worn sunken path, revealing

“Time is older than you, older than this society, bigger than the schedule you create.”

I run past a broken twisted half trunk of a tree, still standing

Reaching skyward, still leafing out

Defiance in its persistence, declaring

“You can be more than, you already are, you are yourself.”

I spy a singular Jack-in-the-pulpit, green hooded

Diminutive treasure, so gorgeous

It offers me a secret, murmuring

“The little details matter, the smallest joys add up, slow down and see.”

The run now gone from my mind, my stride assumes a saunter,

Old growth beech forest, complete and complex

The patience to achieve this community, illustrating

“That time can be eternal, time can be fleeting, it is your choice how you spend it.”

My heartbeat slows down, my breathing becomes deeper.

My existence is now boundless as with a full body exhale

I swim out through the thick green air of the forest

and I am free.