©2022 Michael Raven
I have been standing here, staring at the edge of the world.
People imagine that place to be on the precipice of an abyss filled with void, tumbling out before them — a cascade of nothing.
That’s not the edge of the world.
The edge of the world terminates where another begins: one of dense old growth trees and sunlight struggling to reach eager young plants, and where mycelium chatter over a mystic telegram of spores, electrical impulses and chemical lovemaking. Where thing rot and are reborn in the shadows, and leaves mask the rich soil below.
I am unmoored, unhomed, lost the thread of the tether save for the few gossamer tendrils threatening to break like spider silk under too much strain. I am a drifter trying to find a way back to the heart buried past the edge of the world, a wayfarer and pilgrim, blind with fingers reaching out to feel my way past the blinding brilliance of chrome and corrupted alchemy. I am wandering, here, at the razor thin slice of reality, wondering on which side I actually stand.
Drifter: my everywhere is home, but never do I belong.
Taking up my walking staff, my third leg grounding, I step into the shadows, leaving something behind.
A journey. An echtrae. One step beyond.
sceadugenga 
Absolutely on the nail, Michael. All it takes is the courage to take that first step to cross into a new world.
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Wow Michael, nicely done 👏👏 also, strangely relevant to my situation – my kids are going to be gone for the week and I’m well aware I’m about to become untethered. See you out there! ☺️🎈
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Looking forward to possibly bumping into you in the ether, Anne. I’d tell you to behave yourself while childless but where’s the fun in that? 😀
You’ll have to fill me in on your “situation” if so inclined and you have the chance. I always look forward to hearing what you’ve got going on.
Thank you very much for the kind words. ❤
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There are so many gorgeous images and word choices here. Such a perfect piece of prose with lots of ways it can be interpreted. I think we’ve all felt this feeling and seen that forest and teetered in place deciding to go back or into the unknown.
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I’m glad that there was something tangible that resonated with you. ❤
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