Independence Day

by Belinda Munoz on July 4, 2012

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No trails ahead but a vast thicket of browngreen.
Wildflowers sway in the breeze, roots unpruned.
Destination unmarked, debris strewn about.
Broken sticks crackle underfoot,
ripe for nest-making, smore-roasting.

Which way is right in the sun’s blazing light?

Toss the compass. Rip up the map.
Leave the bubbly water behind.
Suspend all electronic swoosh.
Let your sweat nourish the land.
Pay the jungle in leaves.
Chase the sunrise. 
Forget your name.
Lose your way.
Come home only when there’s nothing left to thaw.

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{ 8 comments… read them below or add one }

1 Rudri Bhatt Patel @ Being Rudri July 4, 2012 at 9:37 am

Love the elements of freedom in this poetry. Well done Belinda.

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2 ayala July 4, 2012 at 8:17 pm

Let your sweat nourish the land.
Pay the jungle in leaves.
Chase the sunrise.
Forget your name.
Lose your way.

Love this, Belinda. I hope you had a wonderful 4th . 🙂

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3 One Love Around the World: Janny T. July 4, 2012 at 8:44 pm

I think that “Pay the jungle in leaves” is my favorite line you have ever written and I am a big fan already so that is saying a LOT! LOL Thank you and blessings Belinda, may we ALL be more independent sooner than later

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4 Giulietta Nardone July 6, 2012 at 3:23 pm

Really gorgeous belinda – the photo and your words. I’m always amazed that so many folks do not see nature as beautiful and worth saving. I took a great writing workshop in a state park called ” A sense of place.” Lovely in there. I love rip up the map. When folks bring their GPS for hiking, it kind of ruins the experience for me. Nature is a place to feel your way around, to get back to your primal instincts.

I guess I do not understand the obsession with more and more technology. How about more and more nature?

Thanks! G.

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5 Sara July 10, 2012 at 10:23 am

Belinda —

Love the picture and the way the light comes through the forest. Then you top it off with your words of freedom. “Toss the compass. Rip up the map.” then, “Come home only when there’s nothing left to thaw.” Those are words of someone who’s spent some time disappearing into nature. It has a way of bringing us back to the things that matter, doesn’t it?

Thanks for this today. I’ve read the last stanza about three times now. It needs to sink into my soul, which is a bit clogged right now. That’s what great about blogging. You can always find someone who gives you the gift of words when you need them:~)

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6 Patty - Why Not Start Now? July 10, 2012 at 11:20 pm

I think it would be fun to get lost in the forest with you, Belinda!

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7 Robin July 11, 2012 at 1:49 pm

Toss the compass. Rip up the map.

That is clearly my favorite line. So free-spirited. Beautiful!

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8 BigLittleWolf July 20, 2012 at 10:23 am

I’m a bit late to this, but it’s beautiful.

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