Road trip inspiration

My week past has been spent communing with nature - a little "Thoreauesque" - in mostly wide-open spaces and sub-tropical forests - the winning hikes along the long drive heading north on this trip have been the Warrumbungle National Park (near Coonabarabran) - which was also a favourite when I used to live in Canberra because of the observatory there - and the New England National Park. I feel so 'in-tune' when I am in the middle of nowhere surrounded by the quiet. I am pleased to have managed these modest hikes as either side of these few days have involved some serious flood inducing rainfall. The current rains have curtailed the second leg of my trip so will be continuing my writing sabbatical indoors in the next few days.

I was asked before I hit the road to come up with a poem or short story idea inspired by a tree photograph that reminded me of a nerve system. 

The words started taking shape in my mind a little way out of Parkes, just as I was spotting "The Dish", and the images fully formed by the time I arrived in Dubbo (an overnight stop). This is why I love long drives (and hikes) - it opens up neuropaths in my mind otherwise distracted with day-to-day thoughts traffic - and the words just flow free. 

I have gone with a theme of new friends in this poem. Friendships as they grow and evolve can be very enriching. It's called Possibilities.

It started with a single yes.
A spark ignited.
Possibilities. Endless.
Every fibre, every nerve.
Every breath.
Thick and thin.
Buzzing with anticipation.
Blood pumping
beating hearts cascading.
Exploring every root and branch.
Blossoming paths in any direction.
Climb up, slide down.
Leaping from limb to limb.
Discovering something new and unexpected
together
in the intertwining budding lines and spaces.
Exhilaration reaching for the sky.

(While not the specific photo I used for the inspiration, I've posted a colour version taken a month later from a slightly different angle because it symbolises the growth theme captured in the poem.)