At first light
I look for the tallest tree
The one that towers
All else
And I climb
I feel the smooth skin
Of the pine
Green with spirit
And reach
For the next
Rung of my heart’s ascent
The black sap gum
Sticks like childhood
On my hands
The sharp scent
Of the needle
Takes my mind in a charm
I breath
And I reach
I pass the place of the blue jay
That flash of indigo
The strident song
That others cannot love
Is the favorite voice of the pine
And me
The forest floor slips miles away
And we climb
The Jay on my shoulder
And we call in raucous harmony
All the way to the top
Of this tallest tree
And together we feast 
On golden river
On mist filled meadow
Together we pledge forever
To our long lost child




Sara Mathews     February 2019