tough to follow
In high school, in Nova Scotia, I belonged to a history club. We did an interesting project in about 1971, tracing the route of an old stagecoach trail through the woods between Lower Sackville and Fall River. We were able to follow the road since it had been raised above wet ground. We also found old culverts still intact. One of the things we made was a relief map of the area, with the hills built up in plaster and the old road marked in red. The project created, for me, a lifelong interest in old roads.
old trail obscured by a Bracken understory
~
tough to follow
~
the old road at the edge
of the hill is tough to follow
no clues, no footprints, no bent twigs
~
eventually all familiar ways
grow over
~
a layer of bracken
covers the track
like a cloth over biscuits
at the dinner table
~
primo-canes of bramble
claw you back
your mother reminding you
to wear your sweater
~
better to look up
follow the ribbon of sky
marked by the absence of branches
~
~
Published as ‘tough to follow’, Canadian Stories 15 (85), June 2012
Copyright Jane Tims 2012
nichepoetryandprose 
Nice intro to a fine poem. Each metaphor forced me to stop and think about it, and when it sunk in it was there to stay. The power of words when put together with such care!
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Jane Fritz
November 11, 2012 at 5:04 pm
Hi Jane. Thanks! I am glad to know you like the poem. It belongs to a new set of poems on ‘abandonment’ I am working on. Jane
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jane tims
November 13, 2012 at 4:02 pm
I love the photo of the ferns.
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dearrosie
November 10, 2012 at 2:49 am
Hi Rosie. The green seems far away on this November day. Jane
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jane tims
November 13, 2012 at 4:00 pm
Is it snowing over there?
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dearrosie
November 13, 2012 at 4:05 pm
No snow, only rain. We had a little snow last week, but it has all melted. Just drear November. Jane
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jane tims
November 13, 2012 at 4:09 pm