Pale Lichen

I gathered myself for a stroll through a forest. It had been some time since I last walked the trails and old roadbeds of the Hillsborough section of Duke Forest northwest of Town. I walked alone today. Fleece jacket and ballcap against a light breeze. Over the scrape of leaf and my own sniffles I heard the deer break away in the distance. Up the hill to the old Quarry. Dense pines dwarfed by sheer number swayed in the canyon. I stayed on the lip, ducked under branch, stepped lightly across the pale lichen looking for a better view. My tired senses reminded me not to try too hard. I saw it the way it was today, the way I was today.