Repent in Pain

An instant, all it takes for everything to
change. You know that, just as you are
all too keenly aware of the truth in that
old adage: haste makes waste. It has often
enough laid waste if but temporarily to
your state of health through impaired
mobility. But life is good. Finally that
all-day rain that made the cold so much
worse and the wind that brought down so
much foliage deigned to stop. Though
dusk was settling in you could still get a
nice hike through forest trails before full
darkness fell if you hurried. And you did.
And that little escapade was worth every
minute you spent in the forest watching
stray gusts of wind bring the confetti of
brightly coloured leaves spiralling down
to the forest floor in growing heaps of
delicious shapes and colours on the trails
so well known. The inundated landscape
and the dusky forest interior collaborated
to create an otherwordly landscape of
transendent beauty before impending
darkness obscured it all and you hurried
coming abreast of that steep gradient often
avoided in these conditions, but not this
time. In that instant you were in disbelief
that your sturdy grip on the trail had fully
disintegrated splaying your body where
your boots normally nimbly grip dry clay.