NATURE Poem: Where I Feel Whole, by Breanna Leslie

I’ve never felt so at peace as I do
in the forest, leaves crunching beneath my feet,
shuffling past saplings straining for light
amongst the wiser trees.

Or when I push past the edge
and sink into the clearing,
where shadows stretch long and breezes gust
among the bees
that dance atop wildflowers,
bending to the whims of the wind.

I’ve never felt so rich as when I bask
in midday sun on a boat
that sways with the heartbeat
of a river most unruly,
curling around hayfields,
cutting through hills.

I’ve never felt so sleepy, so content,
as I do in the blue of a holler afternoon,
daylight still burning

on the other side of the mountain.
In these moments, I am whole—
bound to earth, yet drifting free,
a quiet soul among the leaves,
the river’s pulse, the mountain’s breath.
Here, I am as I was meant to be.

Appalachia