The Natchez Trace Parkway

On By Lauren Scott, AuthorIn Poetry

Hello Friends,

I have returned to the land of the living, feeling much better from a week of Covid, about 90% so. I’m still taking it easy because Covid isn’t meant to be taken lightly. But I’m grateful to feel human again. I’m sharing a poem I wrote from one of our day trips with our daughter in Tennessee. We visited The Natchez Trace Bridge, which I will share photos and a piece of writing (in progress) a little later. But the poem today is about our drive along The Natchez Trace Parkway. A brief history is also included.
I hope you enjoy the journey…

Photo taken at one of the stops on the parkway.

The Old Natchez Trace – pulled from the National Park Service

The Old Natchez Trace is one of the oldest transportation routes in North America; its human use dates back 10,000 years. The Old Trace consisted of a network of trails. For centuries, American Indians traveled and traded along this corridor, which traverses the homelands of the Natchez, Chickasaw, and Choctaw nations. The parkway is a 444-mile scenic drive that connects Nashville, Tennessee to Natchez, Mississippi.  It’s a National Scenic Byway and All-American Road that’s open to motorists, hikers, and bikers year-round. 

The Natchez Trace Parkway

The tires roll on the graceful parkway
flanked with thicket of forest on both sides.
My imagination turns whimsical where
fairies, gnomes, and unicorns coexist
within the density of the woodland.
I exit my tenacious thoughts stirred from
world events, and I revel in wide-open spaces
and a vast valley that continues forever.

Hemlocks, maples, and pines dot
small sections, and I delight in leaves
skipping across the road, letting the grass
catch them in soft embraces.

Our car leapfrogs with a lone cyclist,
but you wouldn’t label our journey a race.
It is a gift to savor where the clock
does not personify a dictator.

My eyes watch butterflies ride the gentle
breeze and crickets hop among the myriad
of greenery. A smile finds its way,
and I am lost in the wonder of every living
creature and how each feels about
our presence in their homeland.

Autumn ensures her presence to come
with hints of golds and crimsons.
I can almost smell the cinnamon.
I can almost taste the pumpkin.
What a delicious season to welcome!

When we reach the end, I direct my
mindset to remain in such a magical state
because not only am I in the best company
of two loved ones,
but my mind and soul feel exhilarated
to release heavy cargo.

Instead, after leaving the heavenly national park,
I find it meditative to observe a man with silver hair
contained beneath a ball cap,
sitting in his chair on his massive, mowed lawn,
simply watching the grass grow.

Let us all immerse into the tranquility of stillness
where time is nothing but irrelevant.

© Lauren Scott, Baydreamerwrites.com – All rights reserved.

Fall into gentle poetry by clicking on the
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you’ll share a review. 🧡

Thank you for stopping by, and have a wonderful week!
Lauren 🧡🍂🍁

92 thoughts on “The Natchez Trace Parkway”

  5. D.L. Finn, Author's avatar D.L. Finn, Author

    I’m glad to hear you are feeling better, Lauren 🙂 It’s a beautiful poem, and it sounds like an amazing drive! Xo

  6. Oh my gosh Lauren, COVID? There is a severe string of it going around. So glad you’re feeling better my friend. No honey, while some may think this virus is a hoax, it is very real. Take care of yourself, because you do not need any relapses! Love my friend. 😍💖🥰

      1. Girl, we can’t take situations these days for granted Lauren. We are cautious, and try to be as careful as you can, but we don’t live in a bubble. Some folks are very careless and it BUGS me when folks cough or sneeze without covering their mouths! 😡 Talk about a pet peeve of mine. Stay well my friend. Hugs and smooches! 😍🥂🤗

  7. Beautiful poem Lauren x
    Ease yourself back in ❤️ hugs x
    My review of Ever So Gently is on my blog.
    I posted on Goodreads too but Amazon is not letting me post reviews (no idea why )
    Welcome back my friend 🤗

    1. Oh, Maggie, what wonderful news to return to! My job calls me, so I’ll read it later and will visit your blog as well. Thanks so much, my friend, and I truly hope you enjoyed the collection. I finished your lovely book also and am working on a review. I lost momentum on so many things. But one at a time. 🙂 Thanks again! Hugs and hope you are well! xoxoxo

  10. I’m so glad you’re on the road to recovery. Take it easy though. The poem is lovely. I look forward to seeing more pictures and learn more about this fabulous drive.

  15. Good to hear that you are feeling better Lauren! COVID can really take you down. Your poem is wonderful, I especially love how you ended it, “Let us all immerse into the tranquility of stillness
    where time is nothing but irrelevant.” It the same when I write. Hugs, C

    1. Thanks, Cheryl, and unfortunately, Covid has taken me down twice. Sigh. Luckily and miraculously, my husband didn’t get it. I appreciate your kind words about the poem and am so happy you enjoyed it. By the way, I’m thinking about the SF Writer’s Convention in Feb. next year! Are you going? I’m leaning toward going because if I don’t, I’ll regret it. Let me know. I’m already nervous! 😁🩷🌷

  19. Happy to know you’re feeling more chipper, Lauren. You haven’t missed a beat with your poetry, that’s for sure! Wonderful verse, indeed. Here’s hoping you continue to recover, and may the poetry flow freely. 😊

    1. Thanks for your well wishes and kind words, Mike. It was a tough week, but I’m grateful to feel more like myself again. 🙂 You are so kind and I always appreciate your support of my writing. Thanks so much, my friend! 🤗

  27. Ahh, thank you, Lauren, this is lovely.

    Yes, we need to break from the rat race as often as we possibly can.

    We need to watch the grass grow sometimes.

    Covid, YUK, but I’m glad you’re recovered.

    Welcome back, and I look forward to your next wave of poetry!

    xo ❤️ xo

    1. Thanks, Resa, for your wonderful words. This was a lovely parkway, and even more lovely to visit it with our daughter. 🙂 Afterwards, when we saw that man just sitting in his chair, watching the grass grow came to mind and seemed so profound. Slow down and enjoy each moment, that’s what we should do. Yes, YUK re: Covid, but I’m all better now. Yay! Thanks for the warm welcome, my friend. Hugs! 🥰🌻

  28. Hi Lauren
    we hope you will recover 100% We keep our fingers crossed.
    Thanks for introducing us to the Old Natchez Trace Parkway. Many years ago we wrote a book and made a TV-film about special places in England. One chapter was the old paths here. In England the idea of straight lines, the ley lines, were popular. The old tracks are following these lines which connect the different ‘holy’ places.
    But these tracks in England are much older, about between 20.000 and 30.000 years.
    Thanks and have a happy week
    The Fab Four of Cley
    🙂 🙂 🙂 🙂

    1. Thanks so much, Klausbernd, for your kind words and wishes. I am doing well and back to normal for which I am grateful. I’m so glad you enjoyed learning about The Natchez Trace Parkway. And thank you for sharing your England adventures about the intriguing paths. I hope I get to England someday, so thanks for providing a peek into the ancient tracks. Have a wonderful week, too! 😁

  29. A lovely post, Lauren. I especially liked, “I delight in leaves / skipping across the road, letting the grass / catch them in soft embraces.” Such imagery!

    I hope you continue to take it easy on yourself. I deliberately scaled down my activities when recovering as I’d read a bit about overdoing it being a potential path to long covid. I hope you’re enjoying the weekend – it’s gone from hot and sunny to cold and fiercely windy today here!

    1. Thanks for your kind words about the post, Steve. I love those lines, too. 🙂 I’m taking it easy, but I’m actually feeling pretty normal (whatever normal means) LOL But I understand what you’re saying. Covid is unpredictable and different for everyone. I hope I don’t experience a 3rd time. Sheesh! Luckily, my husband stayed healthy which was a miracle. Funny, our weather is the opposite. Triple digits today and tomorrow. Ugh! Oh well. It’s more tolerable than compared to the tragic effects of Hurricane Helene. Take care and I’ll visit your blog later today. 🤗

      1. You’re most welcome, Lauren. I’m glad you’re feeling back to normal again. I am finally, too.

        Back to warm weather again for us; not super hot but well above seasonal. And totally agree re: the tragedy of devastation from Helene. We’ve been watching it with much dismay. Here’s hoping the next one isn’t worse, but the forecast is frightening.

  31. Sounds like the perfect road trip and your poem describes it beautifully. Are the leaves changing where you are? We’ve had such a hot summer and warm Fall that the leaves are just drying up and falling off.

    1. It was a beautiful drive, Mark, and thanks about my poem. I appreciate your kind words. Not really. Our summer has been the same, more so than in past years. Or I’ll say with more consecutive hot days. I’m so ready for fall temps. 🙂 And we have dead leaves to rake in our yard too that isn’t normal.

  33. Chuckster's avatar Chuckster

    Groovy verse, thanks for sharing your talent! I have been eager to immerse myself in Trace lore as there is a family connection. Cheers! 🧬

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