the wood between the worlds

He was standing by the edge of a small pool-

not more than ten feet from side to side- in a wood.

The trees grew close together and were so leafy 

that he could get no glimpse of the sky.

All the light was green light that came through the leaves:

but there must have been a very strong sun overhead,

for this green daylight was bright and warm.

It was the quietest wood you could possibly imagine.

There were no birds, no insects, no animals, and no wind.

You could almost feel the trees growing.

The pool he had just got out of was not the only pool.

There were dozens of others- 

a pool every few yards as far as his eyes could reach.

You could almost feel the trees drinking the water up with their roots.

This wood was very much alive.

Excerpt from "The Magicians Nephew" by C.S. Lewis

photographs by Jimmy Backius

I wish I were a wood nymph

that could run through the snowy forests of the north.