it's fiction. feedback very welcome!

If you chance to stroll through my woods
You will find a meandering path snaking between twisted trees
Tread firmly on the packed earth
Pounded down over long years
Here and there ferns reach for the dappled sunlight
The atmosphere sparkles and glows with a brilliant emerald green radiance
Filtered through a bower of young leaves

A gentle breeze whispers in the needles of the tall sentinel pine
Stirring the mild, young air
Smells of crisp, brown leaves and tender plants
Mingle with the clean taste of dawn

If you explore further
The dark thicket of old, gnarled trees
Offers a peaceful retreat
Continue your ramble
Venture to the abandoned, overgrown pasture
Beyond the glen

On the young trees
Smears of dark water
Are all that blaze your trail
They linger to signify my recent passing

Had you hastened your step
Perhaps you would have discovered me
Clutching each sapling
In a tight embrace
Face resting on each trunk
Quiet tears flowing like pearls
Staining the smooth bark with heart-splitting despondency

Instead, all that remains
The stains
And a fluttering scarf
Yellow silk snagged on a branch
Dancing in the wind
But the airy forest is deserted

I am already
Far away
Deep in the peaceful woods I love