“Some Words for the Week”

I wake in the morning

at my home in the woods

with just enough time

to eat and leave

I start on a dirt road

move to a rural highway

soon I find myself on a freeway

four lanes asphalt concrete ruin

there is nothing alive

that I can see

no trees

not even weeds

growing through the cracks

there is not even

a mountain view

I start to panic

feel stuck in my car

and there is a pinch in my leg

I take a breath

I reach down and find

a pine needle

stuck in the fabric

of my pants

poking my skin

and there it is

the forest even here in the mess

of the civilized world

and all day I hold that

little bit of the woods

in my pocket

and realize I’ve made a life

surrounded by pine

even when I leave

my home in the trees

in my work as a carpenter

in my writing on paper

the forest is with me, always

Alexander Shalom Joseph is a writer from Gilpin County. He has two published books and one more forthcoming in the Fall of 2022. For more information and to subscribe to Alexander’s Newsletter go to alexandershalomjoseph.com