lost

walking in the dark
the spongy ground beneath my feet.
a canopy of branches overhead
blocks the sky from view.
I know there is sunlight, moonlight, starlight
somewhere out there
but I can't see it
through the trees.

the ground is soft and decomposes
slowly
over many months;
the breaking down of the elements
smells like birth and death and earth
all at the same time.

I walk on
not knowing if I am still on the path
or if I've wondered off it somehow,
while I was looking up
searching for a light.