Thursday, July 19, 2012

Sydney Logan Week 4: The Woods Are Lovely


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Sydney Logan’s Picture Choice: 1

Title: The Woods Are Lovely

Leaves crunch and crackle beneath my feet as I walk along the trail. Everything is still green, but autumn is coming. I can feel it in the air.

The woods are lovely, dark and deep . . .

How many times did we read that poem? We’d been forced to memorize it in sophomore English, and you laughed at me because I just didn’t get it. Frost’s language was simple, you always said, but to me, it was poetry, and guys typically hate poetry.

My feet carry me to the clearing. Our clearing. Our tiny sanctuary in the woods where we’d hide whenever we needed time alone. Your dad was watchful--certain that I was, indeed, a typical guy. The kind that only wanted one thing from a pretty girl like you.

He’d been wrong.

That wasn’t all I’d wanted with you.

I’d loved you, and I was seventeen, so yeah . . . my hormones had ruled my emotions, but that didn’t mean I loved you any less. That didn’t mean I didn’t want you forever. That didn’t mean I didn’t want to put a ring on your finger.

I wanted so much more with you.

I stand in the clearing, and I wait.

You never keep me waiting long.

Some might call it nothing more than the sun shining through the trees. My therapist calls it a figment of my imagination.

But I know it’s you.

The light shimmers and swirls. I blink rapidly as you begin to take shape. And then you do.

You’re beautiful. While I’ve aged a hundred years since the day you died, you still look like the seventeen year old girl I fell in love with. Your blonde hair is still long and wavy, and your brown eyes still sparkle with love for me.

I step closer, wrapping you in my arms.

I shouldn’t feel you, but I do.

“The woods are lovely, dark and deep, but I have promises to keep,” you whisper.

I close my eyes, letting your warmth and light and love envelop me.

You’ve always kept your promise.

You’ve always come back to me.

“And miles to go before I sleep,” I reply.


Quotes taken from “Stopping By Woods on a Snowy Evening” by Robert Frost

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Sydney Logan lives in Tennessee with her wonderful husband and their very spoiled cat. Her debut novel, Lessons Learned, will be released in September. Please visit her website at www.sydneylogan.com.

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6 comments:

  1. So poignant, simply written just like Frost. Beautiful.

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  2. Love that you wove in Frost! Beautifully haunting! Perfect for the photo prompt!! :)

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  3. You weaved the poem in perfectly. As Miranda said, very poignant. It has the simple sadness of lost love--it matches the simplrness of Frost, but with the bitter edge of letting that hurt grow. Beautifully written.

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  4. A very well-crafted tale. The imagery is beautiful.

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