The Sacred Garden Poem by Justin Reamer

I go on a walk
Into the forest in
My own backyard,
And I wonder what
The world is like
Just beyond the bushes.

This is a path
I have not taken
Before this,
And I wonder
Where this will
Lead me,
If anything at all.

I wonder where I am going,
And I wonder where
I will end up,
Since this path
Is something I
Have not taken before.

As I walk on the path,
I see many things,
That are alongside the path,
Which illustrate the
Walkway I have never
Taken before.
There are trees
Everywhere,
Protruding
Out of the ground
Which look to be
About 15 metres high,
And which seem to
Provide a sort of shade
And shelter for
The creatures
Living in the forest.

There are trees of
Every sort,
And every height,
And every structure,
For they vary in different
Shapes and sizes,
And they vary in kind,
As well.
I see pine and oak,
Maple and aspen,
Birch and beech,
Walnut and chestnut,
Apricot and cherry,
Apple blossom,
Sycamore,
And much more.

There are beautiful
Wildflowers growing
On the underbrush,
Or the forest floor,
And they are showing
Every colour of the rainbow,
And revealing their inner
Spirituality and sanctity,
Showing the beauty
Of something not unseen.
There are many wildflowers
I see along this road,
Including daisies,
Black-eyed Susans,
Daisy fleabanes,
Pink ladies'-slippers,
Moccasin flowers,
Roses and violets,
Irises and columbines,
Dandelions and sunflowers,
Solomon's Seal,
Buttercups and marigolds,
Smartweeds and milkweeds,
Wild strawberries,
Queen Anne's Lace,
Yuccas and yortis,
And much more,
All just illuminating the
Forest floor with their beauty.

I can also hear
The wildlife
In the background,
Which makes this road
Ever so peaceful,
And I must admit,
That I love the silence,
For I can hear the wildlife
On this early morning.

I can hear birds singing
In the cool morning forest,
And every bird has its
Own unique call,
Which makes it so distinct.
I hear cardinals,
Robins and blue jays,
Canaries and sparrows,
Owls and hawks,
Falcons and eagles,
Goldfinches,
Ducks and geese,
Grey jays and red jays,
Chickadees and warblers,
Grouses and quails,
Turkeys and loons,
Pigeons and doves,
Lovebirds,
And much more.
I can hear squirrels
Chasing each other
Up and down the trees;
I can see chipmunks
Squeaking and digging
For the nut that they
Forgot about only
Last night,
Just to find this
Morning's meal;
I can see deer,
Walking in a herd,
With the buck standing
In front,
With his big antlers,
And his muscular
Legs walking cautiously,
And his ears raised
High in the air,
As a dog does,
When it is hearing closely,
And he is watching me,
Ever so closely,
Since he sees me as
A threat,
And is trying to make
Sure that I will not
Harm either him,
The does who are
His mates,
Or the fawns that
They just gave birth to;
And I can see a fox
Sneaking up on me
Behind the bushes,
And is ready to eat
The sack lunch I
Packed in my backpack,
Any time I happen to look away.

And there is more,
For there is more wildlife
In this forest than what
I knew was possible.

I see some coyotes,
Who are licking their chops,
And are ready to get their next meal,
Out of the deer who are walking
Cautiously across the road
In which I walk.

I hear a woodpecker,
Pecking away at tree bark
And wood,
Trying to get his breakfast,
By eating the termites
That live within
The trees.

I see a mother bear and her cubs,
And the way she is willing
To protect them like
My own mother would protect me,
For the cubs look up to her,
And she looks out for them,
And she will let nothing hurt them,
No matter what,
For the filial relationship
Between she and them
Is so strong,
That nothing will happen
That she cannot control
To protect her children.

I see a moose,
Who is grazing
Away at the grass,
And is looking at me
With his sceptical eyes,
As he wonders what I might
Possibly do to him,
As I walk across the path,
Just a few metres
Away from him,
And he looks at me,
And goes back to eating,
Since he knows I am
Not going to attack him.

I walk along the path,
And I keep going closer,
And then there is
An opening in the middle
Of the forest,
And I am surprised to
See that there is a
Garden there,
And it has every kind
Of beautiful flower there is,
Decorating the ground
Around me,
Making a sort of rainbow collage
Of colours just from
The beautiful vegetation,
For there are roses and violets,
Impatiens and petunias,
Sunflowers and honeysuckle,
Triliums and spiderworts,
Black-eyed Susans,
Irises and Dame's rockets,
Rhododendrons and heather,
Lilacs and myrtles,
Snapdragons and dragonheads,
Dandelions and daisies,
Fleabanes and columbines,
Fireweeds and smartweeds,
Milkweeds and mustards,
Clovers and moccasinflowers,
Daffodils and epiphytes,
Hollies and lilies,
And much more,
All illuminating the garden.

In this garden, there is
A pedestal of a sort,
And there is a chair,
And I walk toward it,
Wondering what it might be,
And when I see it,
I realise
That it is meant for me
To sit in,
For something
Is calling my name
In this garden;
And there is a presence here,
And I can feel it,
Beckoning me to sit down,
And to be silent.

I do not know what
To do about this,
And I remain hesitant,
For I know not if this
Is a shrine or
A sacred place that
Was blessed by some
Native American tribe,
Or some other religion,
Such as the Shinto,
Or the Hindus,
Or even Buddhists,
So I just stood there,
Frozen above all else,
Not knowing what to do.

Then I heard a
Voice behind me,
A very friendly voice,
That said,
'Do not be afraid,
For you are someplace
Special, young one.'

I looked around and
Saw an elderly man
Looking straight at me,
With a subtle smile
Showing on his face.

'Who are you? ' I asked,
'And what do you want? '

'I am the Keeper
Of this Garden, ' he said,
'And my name is Brother Claude,
And I was chosen to take
Care of this place. I do
Not want anything from you,
Young one, other
Than to let you know,
That you are someplace
Special,
And you should listen
To the voice inside you.'

'You are a Keeper? ' I asked,
'What is that supposed to mean? '

'I was chosen, young one,
To be the Keeper of this
Garden,
The Garden that has been
Here for all of eternity.'

'What do you mean? '

'You will soon find out, young one,
But, remember, never hesitate
To follow your faith,
So listen to what your heart
Tells you.'

He walked away from me,
And I started listening to
The force that was pulling
Me toward the seat,
And I eventually
Fell into the chair
And complying to what
The voice told me.

Then a ray of light
Appeared before the pedestal,
And a man appeared before
My eyes,
Shining with great intensity,
And I could see his face,
For it was he, Jesus,
The One who saved all of us
From our sins,
And the one who saved
Me from my turmoils and
My trials.

I saw him,
And he came over to me,
And he welcomed me
Into his own arms,
And I embraced him,
With all the strength
And joy I could give,
And I thanked him
For everything he
Had done for me.

I told him I loved him,
And he told me
That he loved me, too,
And that we will always
Be brothers,
No matter what.

I then asked him
About this place,
For what was it?
Why was it here?
And he told me,
For he told me
That this was a sacred garden,
A remnant of the Garden of Eden,
Which the Lord Himself had made,
As a sort of paradise on this Earth,
After Adam and Eve
Had committed the original sin,
And had plagued the Earth with it.

The garden was made
To have a place of worship
In which one could feel
The presence of the Father
Stronger than anything else
In the world,
And it was a place
To meditate and to let go
Of one's emotions,
Above all else.

We talked and laughed,
And we all had our joy,
And I also shared my
Problems with my Saviour,
Asking him to forgive me
For the wrongs I committed
Against other people,
And to also help me with the problems
I had that affected me in the past,
And also any of those that
I may have in the present.

Jesus comforted me,
And told me it was okay,
And that he would always
Love me for who I was,
No matter what happened.
He told me that he
Would protect me
From any harm that
Would come my way,
And would help me through
Any troubles
That would ever happen to me.

I thanked him,
And I told him that
I loved him,
And I said good-bye.
He said good-bye,
And he walked out
And left me in a
Meditative state.

He told me he loved me,
And after, that there was a
Great flash of light,
And he disappeared,
Going back to heaven
With his Father.

I then decided to pray,
And I prayed to the Lord God,
And I thanked Him for all
The blessings He had given me,
And I thanked Him for my
Encounter with my Saviour,
Whom I loved so dearly.
I told Him that I loved Him,
And I thanked Him for everything.
I could feel his presence
So strongly in there,
And I eventually
Felt empowered by faith.

I then got up,
After thanking the Lord,
And I turned around
And left the Sacred Garden
And walked home to continue
My life, which was still ahead of me.