and felt the recoiling sting shock me
back to my own disheveled mind.
With little droplets of sap in my hair
and deep red welts blooming on my skin
I ran, feet pounding against the needled floor.
I ran, even as the rain pelted me pink
against the dark green hands
reaching for me.
I ran, sloshed through the creek,
upon smooth coloured pebbles worn flat
and perfect for skipping.
I ran through tall grass, with the alfalfa in bloom,
scraping at my thighs;
little purple flowers caught up in my dress.
I ran and startled big black birds to air
a great rush of wings
past my ears, all frightened.
I slid down the hill once dust
now turned to mud in the rain,
splashing up my knees with wet dirt.
I pounded down the road, a muddy rut,
my breath coming in rattling gasps,
my legs aching fire sinking into the damp ground.
At the end of the trail,
I dove back into the thickening wood
as the sticker bushes clung to me, pulling me from my path.
The canopy closed over my head,
lushed green deepening the further I fled
into those flats of wild roses and bull pines stretching for the sky.
The black berries brambled in my way
and ripped at my skin with swaying thorns;
sweet juice staining the souls of my feet black; berries crushed under foot.
I ran, not once looking behind me but frantically sprinting faster;
I outran my slicked thoughts of you to the crumbling river bank,
and when I got there I dove straight in and let the flood waters pull me away.
