A Walk in the Autumn Forest

On By stuartakenIn Author, Creative Writer, Nature, Photography, Poetry

We have the good fortune to live in the Forest of Dean, a beautiful part of England, so I thought I’d share this autumn with those who can’t access such natural beauty. The poem was inspired by this morning’s walk, the photographs I took over the last three days and are all within a mile of home.

A Walk in the Autumn Forest

Mellow serenity silences sighs
of daily living in frustration
and sends the soul softly
on trails well worn under spreading
boughs of solid dark
roofing the ways with shapes
of golding brown and russet
glowing greens yellowing
as those already fallen
clothe the tracks
in myriad shades of renewal


The scents of fading light
of earth well soaked
of vegetation slowly
dissolving into nutrient
to feed the new of waiting spring
enrich senses too long scorched
by summer’s garish tones
and feed flavours subtle
with the season’s gentle aging
maturing like soft trodden
vine fruit poured with older love

And a gentle breeze
butterflies last leaves
clinging fast to branches
ready now to shed the year
and collaborate with
coming chills and sudden falls
of small rain made soft
by frosts rehearsing for
a winter waiting on the edge
yet to turn the land and
all the ways to one bright white.

Enjoy!

20 thoughts on “A Walk in the Autumn Forest”

    1. Thank you, Terry. My wife and I walk here almost every day, and we often mention to each other just how lucky we are to have this on our doorstep for the 5 years we’ve been here.

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  5. I don’t think there’s anything as beautiful as when the trees change colours in the autumn and your photos are a perfect proof for that. Thanks for sharing and have a good day 😀 Aiva

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    1. Thanks, Darlene. Yes, same forest. It’s a fairly ancient place, though the part we live in was actually a heavily industrialised valley up to a hundred years ago. There are still signs of that, and our regular path into the trees follows the old railway line, long abandonned. The forest has also appeared in the Harry Potter films, Star Wars, Dr Who and one or two other films and TV programmes!

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