The darkness around us

I tread along the damp path

A quiet, careful movement

I weave gently through the forest,

The gum leaves rustle,

Their sound muffled yet fluent

The branches no longer alone

A glimpse, of a possum scurrying up

Before she gets swallowed in the black

The sound of her claws scraping along the branch

Before she runs away out of sight

Although the world around is calm, I feel a sense of dread

This reminds me of a place I feel that I’ve been before, a place I fled

I close my eyes, listening to the crickets cry out

Thoughts are threatening to spill out, memories, emotions, and something more

Lost dreams.

I let my eyes flitter open, like a butterfly testing its wings for the first time

It's okay I tell myself

Darkness is not only what she seems

Echoed footsteps of the animals that forever walk these trees, love of the families from the past

People once adored, their history fragile, like glass