Writing the Distance: Linda Schandelmeier

The Covid 19 pandemic is isolating Alaskan writers. We can no longer attend workshops or public readings. The coffee bars where we met with other writers are closed. To bridge these physical gaps, 49 Writers is providing this on-line forum for Alaskans writing the distance. Today, Linda Schandelmeier provides a poem and photograph.

What I Learned from Trees

Take the path into the forest,
the narrow one
where bluebells the color of sky
light the edges.
Travel until you meet yourself
coming back along the path,
your shoes stained with green,
shadows following you.
Don’t dwell on time wasted,
versions of yourself you’ve discarded,
or how you’ve changed.
In troubled times think of trees
stretching into the sky
as if watching clouds or the moon.
We think they‘re not going anywhere,
but they’re going up.

Linda Schandelmeier is a lifelong Alaskan who lives and writes in Fairbanks. When she is not writing she might be found in her garden.