The Old Wall

There were stones there, in the forest—stones that were older than me, stones that spoke of a time long past.

I had found them while walking alone through the woods, lost in thought, withdrawn far into my mind. In fact, I had almost walked by them... but something about the light made me stop.

And there they stood, the remains of an old wall—covered in greenery, aged stones being pushed apart by tree roots.

Of course, there were the obvious questions. How had they gotten there? What did they used to be? 

Yet, as I stood there, I did not think on that. I did not think on the archaeological significance of these stones; I did not think on the wall that once stood where I stood.

Those stones—the wall—a testament to what had past.

As I looked at the scene in front of me, the light filtered through the shadows, playing through the leaves—making the shadows shift like fairies dancing, pirouetting and flittering across the old stones. It almost seemed otherworldly... a magical place, like stepping into the realm of elves and dragons, where shadows could sing. 

 Yet, again, I did not think too much on such things.

Those stones—the wall—a glimpse into possibilities and dreams, the tantalizing wondering of “what if.”

Instead, at that moment, I simply saw the colors of green, juxtaposed against aging stone. I saw the delicate ferns, their fractal forms perfect in their simple complexity. I saw the moss carpeting the wall, the lichen and the grasses.

And at that moment, my mind quieted. My earlier anxieties stilled. Like the scene around me, my thoughts became equally as simple, not at all complicated—captivated by the light and the shadow and the green and the grey, and how they all wove together to make something timeless.

At that moment, all was quiet.

At that moment, all was still.

Those stones—the wall—the solidness of the present... the surety that life continued on.

The surety that even crumbling ruins could be beautiful.

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I found this stone wall when I was on vacation...  This was a piece I wrote about it then, which I thought it would be nice to share now.