Ride to Oblivion — A Poem
The day was his, thought he,
A little lad of seven years.
He perched on his little bike
And rode fast where the road
Took him.
Soon came he t o a pathway
That led down to the deep dark woods,
Downhill he went, smiling, in a mood of play.
He entered the woods and
Still rode on.
Till the dark covered his eyes, made him blind,
His bike struck a rock,
Down fell he on the ground,
Hit his head and unconscious lay
For a very long time.
He woke up when the beetle
Crawled upon his skin so soft,
He brushed it off and
Heard the echo of the crickets’ song
Dark, thick night everywhere,
Tears began to roll out his eyes
Looked he around in fear
His bike lay by his side,
Huddled against a rock
Cried he softly
Sobbing in soft gasps.
He’d heard of the animals
Wild and fierce,
That made him cry all the more…
And saw in a vision he, his mother,
Tell him, “Don’t go far out my son,
The deep woods lie in wait
For little children, to devour them,”
He sobbed even harder, quietly,
Terrified, The chill he felt creep up his shoulders,
And cover his frail bones,
He heard the rustle of the leaves in the trees towering above,
Wildly dancing,
Like those possessed by demons.
As if for a sacrifice, no moonlight.
He cried he knew not for how long,
His eyes grew weary
His sobs he stopped.
Sleep gently sinking into his eyes…
Soon fast asleep he lay
Voices now approaching from afar,
Which he did not hear…
Nor the lights of the lamp he did see
They were glad they found the little boy, unharmed,
Lying by the rock, bike beside a tree,
His bike lay broken,
His mother scooped him up in her arms,
With a cry of delight,
The little boy slept on…
Thinking it to be a wondrous dream.
The crowd retraced its steps
Through the silent woods,
Long was the night
Ere came the dawn
And when it was morn
Woke up the little boy
To see his parents fast asleep on both sides,
Fear and joy in his little eyes,
He began to cry.
NOTES: Little children often go missing in the woods. I hear of this happening often in the news, both on the radio and on Television. I wrote this poem in 1991, influenced by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, after reading his delightful poem, The Rime of the Ancient Mariner. Listen to an excerpt reading of this poem. It’s fun to listen and follow the written verse. Try it.
