Aurora's Trail

[Doug's Shack]

Amid the clatter of a holiday's hurry,
She chose me, her hand reaching mine—
"Let's walk," she said, with a voice that softened the world.

Through the streets of our quiet neighborhood,
Her whim led us,
Past the paved and known,
To where the sidewalk gave way to adventure.

A trail rose, bending into grassy whispers,
And the hill lifted us above the neighborhood
Into a realm where trees spoke in rustling tones.

Bare branches stretched like watchful giants,
And the ground, a carpet of leaves,
Carried our steps—
Slow, steady, and full of wonder.

Aurora's eyes caught the secrets of the woods,
Each fallen branch,
Each hidden corner,
A treasure she shared in delighted whispers.

The forest cradled us in stillness,
Its paths winding into an unhurried escape.
Together we wandered,
Finding more than the end of the trail—
We found a pause in time.

Returning home, the spell lingered,
The quiet woods etched into my heart.
Aurora, without knowing,
Had led me to a sanctuary—
A place that will always belong to her discovery,
And to us.

https://dsserv.net/poetry/auroras-trail/