In the Forest & Other Poetry

for Megan

One of my favourite Substack sites is Megan Youngmee’s, Hey friend. Keep breathing. Over the past nine months or more, some articles on that site have inspired me to write this small sequence of poems, which I have titled “In the Forest & Other Poetry”. These poems are loosely connected to each other and to Megan’s work, but they are also poetic creations in their own right and stand independently on their own merits. That said, I would strongly urge all readers to check out Megan’s website, where you will find not only the captivating stories behind them, but a vast archive of informative material regarding health, healing and spirituality.

Now, on a personal note, I must mention that today is the anniversary of my first post on Substack. In other words, I’ve been on Substack for exactly one year today. Yippee!! I wish, therefore, to thank the Substack community for supporting me and for making it a truly creative and inspiring experience. All comments, as always, are most welcome.

Megan Youngmee in the forest in Peru.

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In the Forest

A force has come alive
in the forest,
a force so long at rest
it hardly knows you;
but you are there
with your machete,
among the rats, lizards
and mosquitos,
seeking beauty in the primeval;
seeking insights
from the mountain;
clearing a lost pathway
to your true self …
for you are that forest.

Life Storm

for the orphans of S. Korea

“Keep going, get through it,”
a calm, quiet voice told me,
as I ran into the night,
into the relentless ravaging rain,
with all the pain
of having uncovered suddenly
how I was orphaned
long ago by my birth mother.

“Keep going, get through it,”
an ageless, affirmative voice insisted,
as the uprooted earth
paused suddenly to listen …
to cradle me in its cold, strong arms
beneath the mountain,
before my heart impelled me on.

Keep Breathing

Yesterday your heart was darkened
by hurtful words and retaliations;
but now you sit alone
as moonlight bathes you again.
So, yes, you tell yourself,
there’s life … life after love … not death;
just take a breath … keep breathing!

Songbird

You sit there singing with the birds …
singing and writing in your notebooks;
while your notes,
wrung from pain at first,
have become more like birdsongs …
a healing balm
to lighten humanity’s heavy load.

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Megan Youngmee clearing her own pathway to the light.

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Author’s Note:

Two of these poems, ‘In the Forest’ & ‘Life Storm’, are featured in the current issue of The HyperTexts, along with an article regarding the Sumerian High Priestess, Enheduanna. The other two poems, ‘Keep Breathing’ & ‘Songbird’, will appear in the July issue.

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Author’s Bio:

Martin Mc Carthy is contributing editor to the American poetry website, The HyperTexts. He lives in Cork City, Ireland, where he studied English at UCC and was awarded the H. Dip. in Education. His poems and essays have appeared in numerous print and online publications, including: Poems from My 5k, Drawn to the Light, Seventh Quarry Poetry, Poetry Salzburg, The Road Not Taken, The Lyric, The Orchards, WestWard Quarterly, Lighten Up Online, Better Than Starbucks, The Madrigal, The Chained Muse, Form in Formless Times, New Lyre, The HyperTexts, The New Stylus, Southward and The Cathal Buí Anthology of Poetry. He has published three poetry collections: Lockdown Diary (2020), Lockdown (2021), and The Perfect Voice (2023). A fourth collection, The Book of Desire, is currently awaiting publication. He was shortlisted for the Red Line Poetry Prize, and is a nominee for the 2024 Pushcart Prize. He has a personal website at mccarthypoet.com.