Haiku Series Iii: Alone With The Wild Poem by Lillian Susan Thomas

Pine-laden air lifts
my footfalls as I climb up
the wilderness trail.

So lightly I tread
on pine needles and leaf-mold,
I startle a buck.

Wind-downed aspen leans,
held up by outstretched tree limbs,
never tiring.

The sturdy trunk stands
straight, taking the extra weight
without a shudder.

Blackberry shrub holds
branches high, though pine needles
weigh down ev'ry twig.

Above buzzards watch
injured skunk 'circle the drain, '
turning on dark wings.

Wind whooshes in trees,
sounds like cars on the highway,
confusing my bearings.