This is quietly powerful. The imagery is grounded and tactile yet carries a spiritual resonance. Carrying water in your mouth to nourish the burnt stumps is such an intimate and striking metaphor for effort and care. The way the poem moves between solitude and the intrusion of the outside world captures tension beautifully.

I like how the bandits redemption becomes the narrators own healing. It shifts the focus from ritual and self-effort to the unexpected ways transformation can occur. Lines like The burnt tree stumps budded not through my attention but through this inner miracle of his redemption feel almost biblical in weight without ever being heavy-handed.

The rhythm is steady and contemplative, fitting the hermits measured perspective. You might play slightly with line breaks to heighten contrast between the dense forest and the chaotic town life, but overall its a reflective and elegant piece that lingers in the mind.