~SUBMISSIONS~

The Forest of Me by Derek McCorkle October 5, 2000

Time and time again, heartache has swept through me, like a blistering, raging fire, devouring the forest of souls. Consuming everything that it comes upon, leaving only disfigured, sharp shadows of what was once trees, blackened hearts of stone, soot and ashes.

I am left smoldering, barren, a shell of what a great and magnificent forest I once was. Nothing left. Wondering if I will ever experience regrowth. Longing for the mighty branches that provide the shade of contentment, the budding flowers of joy. But then, I also wonder how many times a forest can burn before it is left lifeless, inhospitable to anything that may come into its being.

After a long, harsh winter of despair, the unexpected happened. A seed, a chance for a new beginning. And with that seed came beautiful flowers, new trees, greater than the ones that once flourished here long ago. The smoldering ashes and soot that once was thought to be spoiled, provided a delicate, yet loving, fertile soil. And once again, my forest was plentiful. And just as the leaves of Red, Yellow, and Brown in the crisp, cool Autumn air, I am falling. ‡