I walk alone, yet never lonely, immersed in the simple beauty of the land… nature engulfing me.
Deepest green needles of old Scots pine, carpeted beneath my tired feet, not sharp but soft and gentle like a cushion to the hardened earth.
Wind, rushing through the highest tree tops mimics the river in spate and enriches the silence around me.
Shadows like moving maps painted on the mountains created from a sky of sultry sun and cotton clouds.
Peaceful lochs cradled in the forrest glint their hidden wonders and creatures unknown.
Distant hills teasing and tempting, beckoning me to reach out and touch there craggy corries and scale their challenging tops.
The gentle Purple heather crowning their powerful twisted twigs whispering the lives and creations of bygone crofters in their humble homes.
Lichens, curious, colourful lichens, clinging to granite, as if for dear life feasting my eyes like a lunar landscape.
I am absorbed, saturated… drunk with the beauty of my immediate natural world. It’s past, it’s present and it’s infinite future.
This is my heart of Scotland, my Caledonia, my home.
Rosie Mckenzie
This poem was inspired by a solo trip in the Cairngorms in Autumn. It reflects how i felt on this particular day walking by myself and feeling at one with nature. I hope you enjoyed it.
Rosie