Lost

A comforting poem for those times when we feel disoriented, alone or in a panic, by the late Pacific Northwest poet David Wagoner. To experience it as a meditation you might settle into a comfortable shape, soften eyes, and listen HERE as it is read by Poet and Theologian Pádraig Ó Tuama.

Lost

by David Wagoner

Stand still. The trees ahead and bushes beside you

Are not lost. Wherever you are is called Here,

And you must treat it as a powerful stranger,

Must ask permission to know it and be known.

The forest breathes. Listen. It answers,

I have made this place around you.

If you leave it, you may come back again, saying Here.

No two trees are the same to Raven.

No two branches are the same to Wren.

If what a tree or a bush does is lost on you,

You are surely lost. Stand still. The forest knows

Where you are. You must let it find you.

You might also enjoy In the Days of Growing Darkness and Start Close In, two other poems that can help us when we’re feeling our humanness. Visit classes for programs and weekly offerings designed to support wellbeing.

I’m also excited to share Live Radiantly, a transformative hybrid coaching program. Live Radiantly holds space for aspirations, drive and accountability in part by stepping into the rhythms of the larger, supporting ecosystem.