Get down from there.
Child.
A tree is no place for you.
You are so small.
I have just started
To climb
This tree
And you will stop.
Come back now.
The ground, is where you belong.
Come down.
The bark
A rough edge to grip and hold
Trusting my strength
Don’t you know you will fall?
Crack your head
Like that bowl you dropped?
You are so small.
I must think
Where to put my hands
The leaves obscure
You are scraped
See the blood
Scratched by that branch
It runs red
Blood dries
It will fade
Just a faint reminder of the climb
Why don’t you listen?
You belong on the ground
Not dangling in the air
The next branch won’t hold
I trust my hands to hold
These branches, no different than a ladder
Spaced out, but stretch I will
How wrong!
To risk everything
On some childish whim
To climb a tree
A swing of the leg
A final heave of the chest
Patience now, strength now
You are gone
Where have you gone?
With me on the ground
Looking up at the tree.
For miles I see
Far far above
Colors of my dreams
Have you reached it
The top I mean
What do you see
You are not in my view
I see faded scratches, and branches that held
And I am not in your view, for
You are so small