the woods remember before we did

there’s a place just past the last polite trail marker
where the air goes still
and the ground softens like it’s trying to take you back

i found something there
or it found me first

not a creature, not exactly
more like a thought that learned how to stand upright
moss threaded through it like old stitches
eyes the color of wet bark

it didn’t move
but everything else did
the trees leaned in
the light bent wrong
even the birds kept their distance

i left a piece of myself there
i can tell because something came back with me

if you go looking
bring an offering
salt, maybe
or a secret you don’t need anymore

some things don’t want to hurt you
they just want to be remembered

#thegleest  #appalachianweird #hauntedwoods  #mossmagic #roanokeva