​POETRY           
"Dense fog droops heavy over the October forest,"   
                                 Photo by Weebly.com                                    

A Walk in the Woods
by Dennis Sides
​​Dense fog droops heavy over the October forest, dead calm.
The crowns of towering trees, first-growth redwoods, disappeared.
Under gauzy light I am enlivened by the muted woodland colors.
The trail twists, hugging high ground, overlooking steep ravines,
their mad tangles of trees reaching blindly for an absent sun.
 
My companion and I are content to listen to utter stillness.
Nothing moves. No sight or sound of birds. We encounter no one.
The silence spreads a blanket of calm across the ground.
I can almost hear trees whispering ancient wisdoms, but
some ephemeral cloak keeps any secrets of nature intact.
The absence of sound, so surreal, becomes a physical presence.
 
I inhale the rich forest tang of bay laurel, Douglas fir, oak, redwood,
amplified under the low ceiling of fog, a physical comforting, intimate.
I sense the powerful life-force around massive redwoods as we pass,
sequoia sempervirens, silent sentries that live for two thousand years.
All my awareness is magnified in this mystical air, this muted Eden.
My spirit soars in this silence, this stillness, this peace I so seldom know. 


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​​Dennis Sides has been a software developer, book editor, professional musician, construction project manager, tech writer, and world traveler. He's hung up his traveling shoes during covid, but hopes to get back out on the road soon. He's lived in the Fillmore long enough to qualify for "San Francisco native" status.
Other works in this issue:
Poetry:
New Year's Eve "Rap"


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Vistas & Byways Review is the semiannual journal of fiction, nonfiction and poetry by members of Osher Lifelong Learning Institute (OLLI) at San Francisco State University​.​
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​Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University (OLLI at SF State) provides communal and material support to theVistas & Byways  ​volunteer staff.