full
“Forest” by Nenekiri Bookwyrm (read by the poet)
Today we have a poem by Nenekiri Bookwyrm, who makes games and writes stories, when he’s not reading from his hoard of to-read books. You can find more of his stories on www.nenekiri.com, and more of his poems can be found on his SoFurry page.
Read by the poet.
thevoice.dog | Apple podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts
If you have a story you think would be a good fit, you can check out the requirements, fill out the submission template and get in touch with us.
https://thevoice.dog/episode/forest-by-nenekiri-bookwyrm
Transcript
You’re listening to The Voice of Dog.
Speaker:This is Rob MacWolf,
Speaker:your fellow traveler,
Speaker:welcoming you to Poetry Month.
Speaker:Every Wednesday and Friday,
Speaker:for the rest of April,
Speaker:we’ll be reading you a poem by a writer from the community.
Speaker:Today we have a poem
Speaker:by Nenekiri Bookwyrm,
Speaker:who makes games and writes stories, when he’s not reading from his hoard of to-read books.
Speaker:You can find more of his stories
Speaker:on www.nenekiri.com,
Speaker:and more of his poems can be found on his SoFurry page.
Speaker:Read by the poet.
Speaker:Please enjoy “Forest”,
Speaker:a poem by Nenekiri Bookwyrm
Speaker:I love the forest,
Speaker:but the forest does not love me.
Speaker:I protect her, but she bites back at me at every turn.
Speaker:She does not want me here.
Speaker:She knows my kind.
Speaker:She must protect what is left of her.
Speaker:I know this, so the nettles sting less.
Speaker:But still I persist. I keep coming back.
Speaker:For her sake and mine.
Speaker:She needs me after all.
Speaker:Some days she is glad to see me.
Speaker:She remembers when I swung on her branches in the early morning dew.
Speaker:And chased foxes through groves of sweet-smelling trees.
Speaker:But this isn't why I come back.
Speaker:I know there will be more bad days than good.
Speaker:To chase that feeling again
Speaker:would be as fruitless as trying to catch a wild hare.
Speaker:Always close but yet out of reach.
Speaker:She is dying. Slowly,
Speaker:very slowly. She knows and I know.
Speaker:I've walled her off. Kept others from venturing as far as I.
Speaker:I try to tell her she is safe now.
Speaker:She won't hear me. Her roots don't go as far as they used to.
Speaker:The trees on the outer fringe are starting to wilt.
Speaker:But when I visit
Speaker:I bring water. I feed what is left in the hopes of easing the pain.
Speaker:It doesn't help. I tell stories when I visit.
Speaker:I recall all of the time I've spent enjoying her beauty.
Speaker:And she listens, always.
Speaker:No matter how she felt about me
Speaker:she always listened.
Speaker:I wanted her to remember.
Speaker:One day I went with my water and found the forest was brambles and dead bark.
Speaker:Save for a single speck of bright green in the very middle.
Speaker:I tried desperately to get in.
Speaker:But to no avail. I was not there when she died.
Speaker:I was told after the brush had been swept away.
Speaker:And for a long time I was angry and hurt.
Speaker:I did not understand why she would leave without goodbye.
Speaker:But then I realized...
Speaker:I could not bear to see the last leaf fall from the last tree in her.
Speaker:I was spared the agony of seeing her defeated.
Speaker:So that her trees could flourish in my memory.
Speaker:I loved the forest
Speaker:and the forest loved me.
Speaker:This was “Forest” by Nenekiri Bookwyrm,
Speaker:read by the poet.
Speaker:Thank you for listening
Speaker:to Poetry Month on The Voice of Dog.
