I wrote this in June when I was recovering from a back injury.

My boots sit dusty by the door
My pack leans where it always was before
The ridgeline calls me in my sleep
But all I do these days is weep

The trees are out there standing tall
And waterfalls still sing their call
But my body’s grounded, spine in chains
And freedom’s just a word I say in vain

I need the trail like I need air
Like pine on the breeze, like sun in my hair
Every step out there was a prayer
Now I sit still, and it ain’t fair
I used to rise with dawn and climb
Now the silence steals my time
And the mountains feel so far away
But the trail is waiting…
And I’ll find my way back someday

I miss the rhythm of my breath
The way the woods could chase off death
How the pain inside would fade to none
With each mile walked beneath the sun

Now my world feels like a cage of slow and sore
Doctors talking like they know the score
But they don’t know what I have lost
What it costs to not get lost

I need the trail like I need air
Like moss on stone, like skies laid bare
Every summit gave me strength to bear
What the world threw down — I didn’t care
Now I watch the green turn gray
Through windows that block the way
And the wind just whispers, “Not today”
But the trail is waiting…
And I’ll find my way back someday

I’ve walked through storms, through burning pain
I’ve bled on switchbacks, danced in rain
This back won’t break the soul in me
The woods still hold my memory

I need the trail like I need air
Like fire in my chest, like a quiet prayer
Though I’m still now, I know it’s there
In every dream, in every stare
So keep that sunrise warm for me
That ridge, that view, that canopy
I’m not done — I’m just on a break
But the trail is waiting…
And I’ll find my way back someday