The Haunted Forest


I wasn’t afraid until the mist rose from the ground,
Covering the earth with ghostly images that floated by me,
Their rain kissed faces haunting me with memories,
I no longer wanted to remember…

I felt her slender fingers trace a wet path across my cheek,
And turned quickly enough to see her floating away,
Her long hair leaving a trail on the damp forest floor…

I was torn,
Wanting to run back the way I had came,
Wanting to call out to her;
“Wait! Please wait for me!”

But if I followed her,
There would be no returning,
Mom always said she would be the death of me…
I wondered if I cared.

Thinking now,
Of where I had been,
Where I wanted to go now that so much had changed,
It’s no fun getting old by your self.

I always loved this forest,
Each long limbed tree has a name,
I know every trail and where it leads by heart.
On long winter nights these woods are haunted-

I saw her peeking from behind a tree,
Her lovely dark eyes met mine,
We had spent our childhood here,
Lay in the long arms of our friends all day,

Talking and dreaming,
Making plans for a future that never happened.
Still, this was the only place I had ever felt at peace.
The only place that we sisters had ever called home.

She smiled at me from behind our favorite tree.
I put my fingers in rough edges of our names,
We had carved so long ago,
They were much higher now,
But still so clear…

I decided to stay.