i walked up winding footpaths
and crossed stone bridges
i sat at a deck
and admired the view
i brought a book
and expected fairies and gnomes
to come crawling out
there was a grand tree
with branches
that reached up to the Heavens
the awe i felt
reminded me that
God was there
this was His church
i felt God’s presence
in the wind
and i knew that
He was there more
than He’d ever been
in any physical church

when i stood
and looked out
at the hanging leaves
and drooping bushes
i dropped my head and
saw a small, green snake
i could feel its fear
but i had no urge
to kill it
that is how i explain
that God was there
when people shake their heads
in disbelief

i drove back home
down a nightstriken road
stopping under streetlamp lights
i ate a greasy fast-food cheeseburger
right before the restaurant closed
i wiped my swollen eyes
and brushed my mess of hair to the side
and wished that i could go back
to the big woods