I don’t read the world by candle or flame, I don’t trust the shape of a shadow’s name. The ground speaks first through root and stone, The wind tells truth in a weathered tone. Sap runs loud in the elder trees, I hear your fear in the bending leaves. My eyes are closed, but I see you still, By scent of steel and the hunter’s will. I draw by breath, I loose by sound, Arrow flies where sight breaks down. Heartbeats drum, the forest knows, Where I stand, the old path goes. Wolf at heel, arrow released, I never miss what I don’t need to know. My brother runs where moonlight breaks, Gray-furred oath the wild still makes. He reads the dark in muscle and ear, I read the space where prey draws near. You step once wrong, the bark complains, Your pulse betrays you in the rain. I taste your fear on the evening air, Loose the string, already there. I draw by breath, I loose by sound, Arrow flies where sight breaks down. Heartbeats drum, the forest knows, Where I stand, the old path goes. Wolf at heel, arrow released, I never miss what I don’t need to know. Sight lies easy, too quick, too thin, Truth lives deeper in hide and skin. When the world goes dark, I sharpen clear, Every step you take is loud from here. Law of bark and bone I keep, Not mercy soft, not cruelty steep. Balance held in arrow and fang, Nothing wasted, nothing sang. If you walk gentle, you walk on free, If you break the green, you answer me. No warning call, no spoken plea, Just forest breath and gravity. I draw by breath, I loose by sound, Arrow flies where sight breaks down. Heartbeats drum, the forest knows, Where I stand, the old path goes. Wolf at heel, arrow released, I never miss what I don’t need to know.
