Wednesday, October 8, 2014

take heed

a cautionary tale
whose beginnings
were founded
in the leaves of a book


a book that spoke
to my
natural tendencies

spoke to the healer
within


the nurturer

the earth mother

one who follows
her intuition

or so i thought.

Maybe the telling was in 
the simple desire 
to purchase a book
on 
healing remedies
and an innate
need
to learn more about 
the power of 
botanicals


and so i studied.

taking it in
gathering essentials
a modern day 
wildcrafter


foraging

and then
on a warm early fall day
headed out to clean the yard
when a small voice warned
these are not the right shoes for the job


and i responded
defiantly and went about the
work.

which came to an abrupt 
halt
when my foot
met up with


a 4" galvanized nail
two inches of which
found its way into the arch of
my foot

and i turned into a 5-year-old
with a boo-boo
face

quickly followed by
rinsing
soaking
bandaging
and a next day
doctors visit for a tetanus shot
and a bout of antibiotics

ah,
but the tale ends
not there


one week passes
and i go for a
walk/run with james
(whom i wish were as young as
the pic above...damn that ticking clock!)
all is going well
we just left the gym
feeling strong
deciding to incorporate a cardio routine
on this beautiful fall day

the

is within feet
and again i hear 
that voice 
which 
 tells me to remember
this trail has a black walnut tree
up ahead
and maybe i should...


and that quickly
my ankle gave way
to a nut
and i had to be escorted
to the car by my
(thank God he's grown so big and strong!)
teenage son.

R.I.C.E.
rest (yea, right!)
ice
compression
elevation
and
more ice

Lavender Ice.

which aids in healing
bruises 
reduces swelling and pain.

all that is left is the wondering

why did i stubbornly ignore
a simple warning?

Is it to prepare me for
something i must
not disregard
so lightly?

a not-so-gentle reminder to
pay attention?

 and so
i take this lesson in
listening
as if foraging a wildflower

and carry it with me
for
i will most definitely
be listening
to that
still
small
voice.

1 comment:

  1. I just had to say how much I loved the photo of the driveway in the morning light. The ramps never looked so beautiful! :) Your yard is always so pretty...maybe a little dangerous by the burn pile, but hey, that's probably why the kids like it back there so much. :)
    Love you!
    Rosebud

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