Mushroom Responsibility
It was intended as a quick walk,
some fresh air before a long work day.
The mushroom, however, lured me off the trail,
leading me into thorns and thickets,
burrs and black dirt, slick with morning dew.
Ever deeper in the woods,
climbing over and under,
making a bag out of my sweatshirt,
the brief stroll became a forage.
Conscious of the long day ahead,
and the need to preserve what I was harvesting,
I almost turned back.
Almost.
But there is more to responsibility
than deadlines and schedules.
And this fine morning,
the smell of fall in the air,
I feel a greater pull
to harvest what is freely given
in these humble little woods.
The office did not crumble in my hour’s absence,
the work will still get done,
perhaps with a lighter heart
and a little dirt on the keyboard.
