Waldeinsamkeit

My son believes in Bigfoot

And I’m glad
He has a face for his monster

I hold his hand tightly
In that reassuring way
To keep him from straying
Into the forest
(Where there is no Bigfoot
No Wild Man
No Sasquatch
No earthly creature that wouldn’t be
Terrorized by his scent)
Though I know I could lose him
To the forest
As each sublime discovery
Leads him farther away
Towards the monster he fears
And yearns to love.

At night I see glowing eyes
In the forest
By the light
Of my cell phone screen
I know what is real
And what is not--
But my wide eyes,
My quickening breath,
My beating heart
Know only monsters.

-Jessica Weible

https://thewatershedjournal.org