Until he hikes far enough away to
where lawnmowers do not whine
and tires do not hum on concrete
to where warblers rustle leaf to leaf
until he finds a granite ledge to listen
where a stream sustains its murmur
where a breeze sings one soft note
where leaves shuffle the forest floor
until he sits a while and slowly draws
in air and slowly lets it seep away, until
then he cannot discern the woodland
sounds that forever stir without him.
Raymond Byrnes