Going for a Walk

I love being places where

I can walk far on my own.

It's better even if those places

are lined with trees and dirt paths

that every once in a while come to a fork

or offer a pebble to throw or a bench to sit.

I don't even mind if my feet get dirty

and my back gets sweaty and I stumble

once or twice on a stray piece of rock

if I get to glimpse one animal or flower.

And if I get rewarded with the upside down

smile of a rainbow in the sky or by the golden

setting of the sun from the peak of a mountain top,

then I know that I have done well choosing that path.