Sheila Lynch-Benttinen - I Ramble the Bog

Poet Sheila Lynch-Benttinen revels in all the natural majesty of simply being present with her poem “I Ramble the Bog”. Written with a observational care and awareness, both of the environment and the seasons, Sheila instructs readers on the use of nature as a means of reflection, contemplation, and calmness, in what she described to The Dewdrop as her “philosophy of walking.”

I Ramble the Bog

clouds drop into the stream
while hawk glides across
crimson cranberry bog
on the eternal hunt
all of us searching
I ramble everyday
freeing my mind of chatter
beneath the open wide big sky
how lucky am I ?
fluffball doggo by my side
scent surfing with her superpower nose
one foot in front of another I always
am hunting for wisdom and beauty
or the top catch of a peaceful mind
seeing, smelling hearing, being present for
the present of the changing seasons
crystal chandeliers of ice
thousands of shades of spring green
summer bullfrogs with their sonnets
newborn turtles sunning near red oak leaves
opalescent dragonflies darting
my senses capture the hunt for wonder
my purpose on this planet of multitudes
is to praise every day the myriads of life
while strolling through my seasons

Sheila Lynch-Benttinen

Sheila Lynch-Benttinen sometime rhymes in her poetry, sometimes not. Sometimes she writes short haiku, sometimes long epics. She does not believe in orthodoxy in poetry and only writes when the Muses visit. She feels a strong connection to nature, seasons, and the passage of time in her poetry. She has been published by thirty journals and twenty-five of her haiku have been published. She was nominated for a Pushcart Poetry Prize in 2024 by The Dewdrop. She resides in Massachusetts with her family and has degrees from U.Mass Amherst and Harvard University. She has worked in Boston for many years in a variety of occupations.