I found my son
a stranger
in the woods
and
against
a tree
he was
arrested—
in his
untouched
jacket
clothed in
green moss
he was
humming
a tune
to
himself
like a
grown man
who
had lost
his way

he said
it’s
a long way

but he came
back
picking
the leaves
in
a little heap
of
gold

and I
felt
like a tree
that had grown
like the rest
that bends
to
the wind.

• William Carlos Williams