The leaves cake the ground beneath my toes,
Stained orange, brown, yellow, and red.
Crunch, crunch, crunch; they crumble at my feet
As I walk along the autumn bed.

The season never changed in this autumn forest,
Though we occasionally got some rain.
I didn't mind - I loved the drops on my cheeks.
And the leaves...I'd never complain.

My friends are all here with me in this forest.
We are young and all care for each other.
I don't have to travel far for company.
We all live so close to each other.

My friends are my family, I love every one.
I'd known them all of my life.
We are not perfect, but we all get along.
I'd never seen anyone fight.

Yes, life was good. Nothing could be better
Than the forest in which we all played.
We never really questioned what lay outside
Of the woods where home was to stay.

I breathe in the scents of the sweet forest breeze;
It fills me with peace and security.
The trees are my home. They shelter me from
The dangers of the outside impurities.

I'm not sure what exists in the world beyond -
I'd never dared venture out there.
I know nothing except for what lay in this grove.
I know nothing but crisp autumn air.

I did have friends in this vast, green forest
Who'd ventured past this grove of trees.
They'd often tell of experiences outside
That'd sparked my curiosity.

I'd often conversed with the wind around me.
The wind in this forest was a seer;
It carried in stories of the world outside
And whispered them sweetly in my ear.

It'd told me of canyons of red rock and sand,
And cacti with ever sharp thorns.
It told me I'd originated from that place,
Before it'd carried me here that next morn.

I looked around at the forest and trees.
I knew not anything else.
Was there really that missing part of my past
Before I'd come to this place I now dwelt? 

What did exist beyond these trees?
What else lay under this sky?
What other beauty was there to explore
In this earth where I'd come to lie?

One day as I played with my friends in the leaves,
The wind spoke to me again.
I stopped in my frolicking and listened intently.
No good did this news contain.

Leave the forest, it said. There is something out there -
There is something that you need to learn.
There are places to see, there are people to meet.
Your time has come to adjourn.

I wasn't sure at all what to think.
I wasn't sure what to say.
Leave the forest? I couldn't believe it.
Leave my home? There's no way.

I didn't want to leave my place in the trees.
Would you, if you have to choose?
What would you feel about leaving where you loved
If you were here in my shoes?

I looked around at the home where I lived.
I couldn't remember anything else.
But what was it like in that sandy, red canyon
Where I'd, in the past, briefly dwelt?

I loved the feel of the forest and the trees,
But what harm could a little change do?
I knew I'd find my way back home
Someday when my journey was through.

It hurt my heart to say goodbye
To the forest in which I'd grown up.
My heart was still young, I'd known no sorrow.
I'd never tasted the bitter cup.

I consulted the wind with one last question.
Will I find my way back to these trees?
This time, the wind offered no response:
This was my answer to seek.

I didn't pack much with me to take.
I didn't have much to bring.
I made sure, however, to pack a journal
So I'd never forget these memories.

My friends and I shed a great many tears
On the morn of my leave from the forest.
I gave them a hug and promised my return;
I'd hoped to be back in August.

Only one last look I allowed myself
Before turning my back from my home.
I wished no longer to cry and weep
For my calling to depart and roam.

I vividly remember that day long ago
Years later as I stand in ponder.
I understood not the darkness to follow
Amidst the universe I'd chosen to wander.

I wonder now if I'd choose to go back
To that time of my innocent state.
Times were certainly easier, then.
But this life was certainly my fate.

So off I went, away from the place
That for so long, I'd called my home.
I'd long since forgotten what exactly that meant.
To this day, I still miss that grove.

Goodbye to the forest. Goodbye to leaves.
How I'd miss their bright, autumn colors.
With every step, I was further from home.
Compared to it, my life became duller.

The journey was long and ever so tiring.
I walked farther than I thought I'd ever go.
And then, when I felt my feet would drop off,
I stepped in my first bank of snow.