The robin ahead on the trail
dappled in sunlight
looks to me like a gnome,
and I pause,
remembering
the time a gnome
visit me visited me in a tent
while my family slept,
and I want to believe
for just a moment
that somewhere
in this wicked world
there’s still magic like that —
still gnomes
and fairies,
still hope
and things we can believe in —
then just like that,
the robin flies off
deep into the woods
of this last protected space,
and I think
it’s magic just the same.
Photo by Matteo Badini. Poem ©2026 Jen Payne. If you like this poem, you’ll love my book SLEEPING WITH GHOSTS, on sale now at my Etsy Shop.
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