“The times are urgent, we need to slow down” (Bayo Akomolafe)
Two paths diverged in a park
And I, feeling curious, took the slow path.
My anxious, ageing self said: “this won’t keep you fit”,
So I slowed down.
My anxious self-conscious self said:
”people will think you’re weird”,
So I slowed down even more.
I walked slowly on the earth,
And the earth came to meet me:
Wind ruffled my hair, cooled my cheeks,
Clouds scuttled and drew pictures in the sky
A bird flew past
Sunlight danced over the autumn grasses and warmed my face
The trees’ rustling leaves sang to me
I had an urge to hurry home and write this down,
So I stopped under a tree, leaned on it, and gave thanks for its
unmovingness, it’s slow-growingness.
Tomorrow I may run, but today I walked slowly,
Probably the best exercise of my week:
I didn’t go far, but I did go deep
I love this, Annette. An homage to Robert Frost. The last line captures the sense of it perfectly.
Thank you! xx
I love this poem Annette, slowing down is very much something I am trying to mindfully do these days 🙂
Hope you are well and thanks for sharing,
Carolyn
Thanks Carolyn, lovely to hear from you. I am well, thanks, trying to hold on to the somewhat delicious slowness of lockdown! Hope you’re well too x