There was room in the tree
for all of us, and more.
The branches were low to the ground.
Three year olds climbed them.
Some reached higher than big kids could go.
Many were long enough for a stroll.
Slippery though, the bark as smooth
as its chestnut hulls, shiny
like polished leather they gleamed,
like your smile reflecting in my eyes.
You know how you can feel a smile stretching
before your lips even move, especially when
you make sure to hold them fixed,
like the branches quivering
with everyone's steps,
like the swaying way
they'd swing you
into fantasies
We'd run and games.
along the ground,
(dodging the prickly husks)
dive for a limb, hold tight,
swing your knees up to the next one,
then your hands to another.
That tree was made to teach
monkeys to be children
and children to come alive
in that room without walls or roof,
but so many doors
to so many
places
much too high
to ever
reach earth .
|