LOST

In the forest

a man who loses his way

gets frightened;

his heart can’t help

breeding tigers and lions.

Hellish ghosts

from childhood tales

begin taking shape.

At first he walks slowly,

pretending nothing’s wrong,

but soon, from behind,

faint sounds,

something following.

He walks faster,

not daring to look back.

The forest darkens,

in his heart beasts and ghouls

come to vivid life.

Once he starts running,

first east,

then west,

he gets farther from the trail.

Now he’ll be eaten by real tigers,

or devoured by his own terror.

Yet just as before, the forest’s

bathed in gold evening,

and still there, the narrow path

shimmering with light,

though few

can see it

and walk out.