A Strangeness in the Woods

There was a strangeness in the woods today,
a sense of something ancient.
The beagle cocked his head,
and listened intently.
A solitary crow cried cadenced caws,
as though marking the passage
of the different and unknown.
The old man listened, wondering,
but reserved judgement,
pending further thought.

There was a strangeness in the woods today,
as though some ancient zeitgeist 
had awakened, disturbed
by environmental devastation,
or Gaia’s cry for help.
The crow departed, leaving a quietude
that echoed with the silence
of a vanished verdant planet.
The old man and his beagle walked home,
the stillness a requiem for a better world.