The place I lost and found my innocence was the place I found myself
Love hung low on full green boughs
And bugs ate away at my unknowing
Skies lay high above my head and hands never were idle
Days were filled with dance and music and good old folk songs that donned the walls of the rec hall
Wooden with warmth and filled with the knowing of labor
Those days cleaned themselves leaving lasting memory in me
If I hush I hear the hum of stories being read as sleep drifted us into imagination
Smells still rouse me on good mornings and i am energized by what newness the day will bring
Lumber hard worked and then firelit
Leaves fallen and heaven sent

Paths hidden and unknown until feet fall and tread it familiar
This place was where I learned that nature holds us all safe and close
Underneath a bright night sky, white stars find us hopeful that our eyes will again see such glory
And whispers turned into longings of love and what we hoped life would hold
A kiss on a cheek never before met by lips not mothers or fathers
Vans packed tight
Sleeping bags and repellent

And rivers and creeks and streams

And sad goodbyes
Spiders crawled legs while friendship was braceleted around our souls
Clay melted deep into our fingers as we all came together
Barnyard style
Loud and proud
And denying the confines of social graces
Take a drag
Pick an apple
Make a scene
Break the rules
Set the record straight
Pull laughter from ten-year olds
Render creation sacred

I remember the infirmary where at 7am the screen door was shut and sleep lay at rest inside
When blue eyes locked into mine, 5 years too young to know what to do with a stare

To go back to good food
Wicked confidence
Beautiful earth
Cooking hands
Rich minds

Is to go back home
To reunite the circle
Between all of these groups of dancers
Looping the world wide with their goodness
And making a promise never to be broken

May this place never be broken

Circle pines