| Back out on the road now, passing under the railway bridge (I used to play up there too, right beside the track!!) I walked on, passing the Queens Head, last orders having been called, and towels put on hours before, and crested the hump of the bridge over the cut. All was dark, dark and wet and nighttime quiet, but for the rain. I felt special to be out alone, and excited.
As I walked I wondered what I would say if any one should challenge me on the road. Would the constabulary understand the needs of this wandering cloud, and leave me unmolested to drift on towards my hill, or would such outlandish behaviour justify suspicion and further enquiry? A dog started barking as I passed a house, small and yapping, a Jack Russell no doubt. Could be a problem if it gets out, I had visions of me half-hopping, half running along the road with dog attached to ankle! I walked on, crossing a second bridge over the still darkness of the canal, passing a terrace of cottages on my left and on into the country. What was I thinking? I can�t recall! I know I was happy, I was soaking wet, not being dressed for the rain, but that only made me happier, I felt outside my comfort zone, and that made me feel happy, I was happy, get the picture!? Old tracks cross outside The Gate Hangs Well, and I crossed them, passing onto the track opposite The Gate. The land swells dark and brooding on the left, but I felt safe, there was no doubt in my mind I was welcome here, and protected. Watching the clouds as I walked they parted to show the Moon, she was full, and I then knew why I was walking, it was the Moon calling. Often, on moonlit nights, I�ve sat and watched her, feeling a pull, unsettled, sensing ancient attachments, not knowing what to do with them. Tonight my nose and my feet had taken over, and answered her call for me, the Moon and the Woods! This was an old way I was following, covered in black asphalt now, but doubtless a way for generations, and this was an old call that I answered, doubtless answered by generations before me on nights such as this. I like this lane. It runs fairly flat and straight for a good while, then it starts a series of meanders, first right, then left, then right again, climbing all the time as it draws near to the edge of the wood which was now filling the sky directly infront of me. My thoughts had been full of following my lane, I had arrived almost all of a sudden, and now the woods loomed dark, wet, and foreboding in front of me. |