early morning walk

the woods are empty
this time of day.
the sun
just barely
up,
a soft yellow through the trees.
gold glimmers
on the water.
the slips of violet streams.
i walk briskly down the mud
path,
the gravel,
the pavement, it's a full
circle of five
miles.
I've walked this path so many
times,
so many years.
it's a home, a place of memory.
a way
of getting back
to where i'm from.
it's a quiet joy to be
there, to smile
at all that was, and to
look forward
to what will be.