The Important Places

Child of Mine, come
as you grow in youth
you will learn
the secret places
the cave behind the waterfall
the arms of the oak
that hold you high
the stars so near
on a desert ledge
…the important places.

And, as with age, you choose
your own way
among the many faces
of a busy world
may you always remember
the path that leads back.
…back to the important places.

— Dad to Forest, 1986