My ravine
We walk past the playground with its laughing kids, over the gentle swell of the small hill and into the dip that signals the boundary between man and nature.. Here the weeds are starting to take over the carefully manicured lawn. Beyond we can hear the laughter of the brook overpowering the fading laughter of children at play. We walk towards the forest surrounding the brook and the smell overpowers. It pulsates with the hidden life of the ravine. Ahead of us a fallen log beckons. MOss creeping up its sides, it lays sprawled across the laughing brook, the perfect place to sit.
Smiling, we help each other to out resting places, hands and eyes lingering for an extra moment. Beneath us the shallow brook tumbles over so many rocks. It is cold to the touch and clear but I will not drink it. Downstream we can see the man made sewer slowly drain into the brook, increasing its size and muddying its waters. The sight disturbs us and we turn away like so many before us, refusing to see the ugliness in a perfect world. Looking into the forest we can see bustling squirrls, timid rabbits and overhear we hear the trill of a wild canary. The forest is teeming with wildlife and the longer we sit, the more adventuresome the creatures become. A daring chipmunk scampers up the log as we hold our breath, amazed by the creature before us. Something, perhaps the smallest sigh or slightest movement, scares our newfound friend and off he scampers into the undergrowth. The spell broken we release our breaths in a woosh. As I glance around one last time at our natural cathedral, i realize the true magic of our ravine. We walk off hand in hand and peace settles upon us like a light spring shower.
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