THROUGH THE WOODS, INTO THE RIVER

Sunday afternoons bring our family to a State Park for our weekly walk. Last Sunday, my husband drove us to Sweets Knoll State Park in Dighton. That the park had access to the Taunton River made all of us excited to visit it. As soon as we got to the path to the woods, the children ran like deer to look for the river bank. Unfortunately, the nearest access was already occupied by a couple of young fishermen. Disappointed, the older boys continued on the trail with their daddy and baby brother not too far behind. Their yells echoed in the woods. I found them almost crawling, grasping on roots and rocks, to get to the top of the steep hill. I chose the easier way by walking on the nearby path. Soon, we abandoned it to dive into the woods, poison ivy and thorny vines notwithstanding. Even the 18 month old did his share of walking, stopping every now and then to admire a bug or anything that caught his fancy. There were no boulders to scale nor fallen trees to climb in this place, but there was a river to find so we went deeper and deeper into the woods only to find our way blocked by cattails.

Lichen covered trees
witness to passing summers
roots digging deeper

We retraced our steps, thinking of going home. I was far behind as usual, taking pictures upon pictures of the Turk’s Cap Lilies that we found earlier, Queen Anne’s Lace, and other wildflowers. The hum of the roads around the park and the voices of my children surrounded me in the quiet meadows. When I caught up with them, my boys were hunched over the waters of a hidden pond, fascinated by the frogs and tadpoles in the water. The sight of my family enjoying a moment together reflected in the water lit up by a late summer sun entranced me.

Birdsongs in the air
harmony of solitude
temper sultry winds

My eldest child was not giving up. Instead of heading to our car, he lead us to another path in the park. Once more, we entered the woods and moving further on, we found the river. The boys slid down as fast as they could to the mud flats. Squeals of delight greeted me as they overturned rocks and picked up tiny crabs which they triumphantly showed to me. Soon, we were skipping rocks and competing about who could make the most skips. We threw as many rocks as we could, stopping only when boats and jetskis roared by. The waves they created sloshed towards us and made our dog go wild.

River rushing by
emptying out to the sea
carrying the sun