Two Perspectives of a Roadside Hedge

Over the Hedge (toward the Heavens)

Over the hedge

Beyond that wall of branch and leaf and green

Lies something more,

Something brighter than my eyes have ever seen.

For where I walked before

Was veiled in shade below its topmost edge

To guard my fate,

But now I hunger for

The hidden lore

And brilliant sheen

That wait

Just past the hedge.

 

A Hole in the Hedge (toward the Earth)

There’s a hole in the hedge,

Which I might crawl through

To explore other realms

And locations new,

Which were blocked before,

Reasons why unsure,

But the barrier broke,

Which expands my view.

As I think I've shared before, there are hedges along the sides of the road where I do most of my walking. I wrote these two poems at different times, and I didn't really realize they had a connection until after they both were finished. I feel like they express two sides quest to learn and grow: first, the desire to do so, looking up and stretching beyond yourself; and second, the act of doing so, by returning to the practicalities of the world and figuring out how to actually move in the direction you want to go.