The only way to reach the hidden hollow
known to us locals as the Devil’s Bedroom,
was to scramble up one of the gullies that ran
down to the lake. In holey sneakers, rescued
from the dustbin and designated for tramping
through water on nail-sharp beds of shale,
we could slosh right up the middle—through
stands of sumac & Queen Anne’s lace—ever
on the lookout for an overhang of berries
that we might snatch a fistful of darkness
to ennoble our peanut-butter-sandwich,
carrot & celery-stick lunch.
The creek led us up & away—away
from the wheezing county road and our
inherited little sack of worries. Out of earshot
of the thou shalts & thou shalt nots, far
from the nagging ache we lugged around
all school year that there was something
we needed to add to ourselves
to make us whole.
That gully prepared us to enter the benevolent
chamber of the Fallen, where we found ourselves
perfect again. Perfectly weird & perfectly wild,
just like Cousin Salamander & Brother Toad
and the gold-striped garter snake that glided
alongside us, leading the way
as we crept together upstream.
Prartho Sereno is a prize-winning poet, author of 5 full-length collections, most recently Starfall in the Temple. Poet Laureate Emerita of Marin County, CA, she was a Poet in the Schools for 21 years and currently teaches The Poetic Pilgrimage: Poem-Making as Spiritual Practice online. https://www.prarthosereno.com
I am deeply honored to have this poem, of which I’m especially fond, on the pages of THE RAVEN’S PERCH! Thank you
Enjoying the reflection of our youth both from today’s perspective and then. So grateful to be living where we have such wonderful memories and that you can bring these together.
I love the wildness of this coming of age poem. Prartho takes us back to the immediacy, the intimacy of daring youth, with details that bring it to life as a present tense movie..Thank you!