Regaining My Soul

After William Stafford

I began walking
diligently in 2009 —
the Padden Creek trail
if time was short
if I needed light and water
and the flight of birds;
the Interurban trail
if I needed solace
and time to myself
if I needed green forest
and fresh scrubbed air.

That year I escaped
the soul-crushing hell
of corporate cubicle life.
I wanted recovery
and discovery.
I wanted to explore
what I might have
to say and write.
I wanted butterflies
and birds, rain and fish
and all the forested
splendor of this place.

I wanted
to be saved;
I wanted,
and began
receiving.
I began walking,
began reclaiming
myself.
I began walking,
began reclaiming
my life.
I began walking,
began regaining
my soul.

~*~

Andrew Shattuck McBride
NaPoWriMo 2014 ~ Day 20

This was inspired by a lovely poem by William Stafford,
“How to Regain Your Soul.” Stafford began his poem with

“Come down Canyon Creek trail on a summer / afternoon….”

See The Darkness Around Us Is Deep: Selected Poems
of William Stafford, edited and with an introduction
by Robert Bly (1993).