Down a dry and dusty road
Beyond a field of thirsty grass
Lies a portal to another world
Beckoning to those that pass
Magnolias through waxen leaves
Sigh a breath of melting warm
Spanish moss on white oak trees
Every branch and limb adorn
Deeper now in forest keep
Rotting wood upon the air
Soft green moss beneath our feet
Dark and cool as we walk there
Outside, the heat is sweltering
Yellow bursts down on the stream
The sun has come to pools to bathe
And left in place, a living dream
Dragonflies speed swiftly by
Bodies blue and tails of green
Dancing among the Tiger lilies
Like small crayfish, to shade unseen
Leaving here, the traveler finds
More time elapsed than first believed
As through the gate the pathway winds
With all his worries now relieved
