The Nature Trail

THE
NATURE
TRAIL

T h e N a t u r e T r a i l

The Eden Historic Park welcomes all visitors between the hours of seven a.m. and dusk. There is convenient parking located next to the Park Headquarters and Gift Shop. Our Ranger Angel is always on duty at the gate to answer any questions you might have, and to point out a few sights to see along the way. Catch him on the right day, and he might show you his antique sword.

Starting from the gate, there’s a slight upgrade
Where you’ll encounter (1) a dead fig tree,
The branches splayed
In a gesture of combustion. Further on,
The path winds past a field of scree

And down to the spring (2) from which is drawn
Four rivers: Gihon, Tigris, and Euphrates,
And dry Pishon
(Too much was taken quenching oil fires—
Too late our minds divine what Fate sees

In its telescopic view). The waiting choirs
Of trees project to (3) the Naming Stone,
Where Adam’s quires
Were filled with every appellation he
Fired in the kiln of his brain,

The animals lined and blessed with his decree.
The trail leads upwards to the highest rise
In the park. See
How the path opens to a circular grove
(4) where the sunlight falls slantwise

On two trees, (5) The Tree of Life, which wove
Its roots with (6) The Tree of Knowledge of Good
And Evil, but strove
Somehow to separate, and so it grew
At an angle, and for years the wood

Has leaned away as if its sister’s taboo
Was a lit match. As you pass by the pair,
Notice the two
Burns (7) on the trunk: cuneiform
Inscriptions, older than the Sumer

Dialect. Deciphering this swarm
Of wedge-shaped letters has been difficult;
We think the triform
Marks are those for A + E; however
In academic circles, the tumult

That romantic notion sparked began to sever
Several ties between the Park and the field
Of linguists, clever
Though it may be. The trail continues down;
Through here the fallen leaves will yield

To solid ground as you, lost in the gown
Of light that shifts through the clerestory,
A new meltdown
Of body into fire, descend and keep
Descending, for this trail, like the story,

Does not loop back, but reaches to a deep
Where light is sweeter for reaching further in
Where you will steep
Until your body has blended into light,
Burns forever and is not burned.

Originally appeared in Sewanee Theological Review, Christmas 2001

Text and images copyright 2006 by Jason Gray. All rights reserved.