Into the Woods Into the woods, my footsteps fall, Where silence breathes among the trees, In shadows dancing, soft and small, Where nature stirs in gentle ease.

The air is thick with whispered dreams, As leaves caress the twilight glow, Each rustle here, a secret seems, A call to every heart to know.

With every step, I hear the song, Of life renewed in sacred thrum, And in this place, I do belong, For nature’s heart makes all things come.

In these woods, each moment flows, A canvas painted by the light, In every breath, the spirit knows, The magic housed in day and night.

— Excerpt from “Into the Woods” (not an actual poem of Melville)

• Herman Melville