DEAR BOB (trespasser's anthem)
    -mwk

Whose woods these are I've never met
A real fine person, though, I bet.
The land is beautiful, can't have been cheap
And can't be an easy thing to keep.

I've stopped here before a couple of times
To gaze and dream and concoct some rhymes.
This time I want to walk among the trees,
Smell the dirt, crunch the leaves.

Relax, Bob....
I don't want to build a house, or even pitch a tent.
Just peace from time in solitude spent.
Want to climb a tree or snuggle into a nook
And write a poem or read a book.

Want to listen to the whispers, touch the bark
I won't go in deep, won't stay after dark.
I grew up in the woods, need to go back now and then.
Need to remember who I am.

"The woods are lovely, dark and deep
But I have promises to keep."
And keep my word I most assuredly will
But I also have a soul to fill.

I need the loveliness, the dark and deep
To shake me, wake me out of sleep.
The desert I dwell in leaves me dry and bare,
Blind from the sun's incessant glare.

Don't be frosty, now, Bob.
Don't be a self-righteous snob.
I'll leave this luscious, living, secret realm
Until the loneliness quite overwhelms.

Then I'll be back.