I entered where the timber bends, where
Light is taught to kneel.
A thousand
Paths in quiet war between the false and real.
The ground remembered every step
I'd ever tried to hide, and branches
Whispered older names
I learned to walk beside
Each mile was sown with borrowed
Breath, each choice an arrow in the scene.
The forest dressed in borrowed gold and shed it like a dream
I sang to keep the dark at bay
I sang to name the truth, unknowing
Every note
I gave was bending time