As the moon spills its radiance onto the water,

There in the thick of weary trees spins a dark way,

Which, with wary legs traverses the wanderer.

In the autumn silence, the path is near empty,

Save for strange eyes, ephemeral gems of dim light;

Leaves of fire inflame the bed of the forest.

Trudging along the veiny roots of the ancient forest, 

Veins reminding him of his mother’s hands, water

From a stream feeds into a lake: some distant light

Dappling on its surface flickers, fades away. This gate-way 

To all mysteries, a pristine mirror reflecting his empty

Soul, beguiles with promises of finality the wanderer

Aching to find repose. Suddenly, the wanderer

Jolts out of his rêverie. T’was not the forest

That made that rude cry, being seemingly empty;

Facing the lake once more the uneasy water

Parts, a will-o'-the-wisp emerging. Making its way

Towards the wanderer, he admires the light

Emanating from it like a dying lantern. How light

It is, prancing ‘pon the lake! It tells the wanderer: 

“Why do you bear such glum countenance? What long way

Must you have taken to come here, to this forest

Cast to the furthest corner of Earth? This water 

Here cannot simply be embraced: You must empty

Your mind…” The fatigued wanderer begins empty-

ing all presumption, all raucous rumination. Light

Envelops him upon immersion, the water

Trembles, the ends of time are to the wanderer

Revealed. Flashes of mem’ry pass by: a forest

Ablaze, a mother’s unyielding grasp leading the way,

The blood-dimmed tide’s brutal descent. O forlorn, way-

Ward trav’ller, you bear the sorrow of a thousand empty

Souls, hungry for solace! Yet, amidst the forest

He stands starving, weary, lonely still. The distant light

Of the Will-o'-the-wisp speaks: “You, the wanderer,

Have traversed far and wide, found truth, but the water

Cannot offer you finality…The sole way to the serene light

Must be pursued within.” Empty yet filled with vigour, the wanderer

Leaves the forest, as the nascent sun spills its brilliance onto the water.