morning pause at paxton creek

click,

car locked,

rush.

gravel,

parking lot mud-mix on blue boots,

macadam bike path,

slush,

crisped leaf,

snow pack,

rabbit tracks,

Paxton Creek

underfoot,

underbridge

ice-melt slicked wooden planks,

slowed step,

pause

pull

“look.”

green water,

viscous,

unhurried,

wind-blown oak leaf cartwheels across ice-skin,

hush.

sleeping,

creek bed cradle,

bridge shelter,

humbled witness.

Justin Ferko is a 2021 Graduate of SDSG with Oasis and current Deepening Year student. You can find Justin in his happy place outdoors at Wildwood Park in Harrisburg or on the meditation cushion with his dogs Benny and Yeshe stretched out nearby. He is an Interspiritual Companion and Guide-in-Training with the Association of Nature and Forest Therapy with a focus on nature, meditation, and the LGBTQIA+ community offering sessions online or by phone to help spiritual seekers discover and nurture their Inner Wisdom. Please email for a session: Justin@wildspiritpaths.com www.wildspiritpaths.com