Romeo And Juliet Á La Wilderness

How to start the woods?
We went there looking for summer in the first waves of fall
Crunching on layers of cobblestone
Trampling millennia of footsteps.
The dogs come out
In the woods
If you stay still
They’ll come softly.
We went deeper to get away from the dogs
I thought.
possible bears lie slumbering there
But it’s alright
Keep your eyes on the river.
She is drawn to the water
The droplets, her anthem
Just around the river bend
A mantra riding the current.
My woods are in the dirt paths and lumber skeletons
Into the woods, into the woods, and home before dark.
I am not drawn to the water, but to my footsteps leaping along the winding trail
As long as the dogs stay far away.
The little yellow leaves between the pebbles are the candy of the woods
And a green, bittersweet tune echos across the trees.
They say I think too much of the dogs
And not of the people
But the dogs are always lurking
And I am ever waiting.
We are leaving the woods
I am running from the deep
Skipping over tree roots and rocks
Like hurtles on a hidden track
But I stop
When we reach the dogs
They will chase
If you run.
I walk down by the river
With her
And wonder if Shakespeare is right for the woods.
The dogs are not approaching
But I wonder
If I look them in the eye
What will happen?
A maybe
I don’t want them to get close enough to test.
Since they are an adequate distance away
For now
I climb up the bank
And slowly
Walk out
Onto the enormous rock.
From here I can see the river, the people,
The dogs,
And the woods.
A whole sky of green sunlight stretches out before me.
I am enticed
And I begin to speak.
“Tybalt, here slain, whom Romeo’s hand did slay...”