The Summer Tree
illustration by Sabrina Carrizo
A tree was our home that summer We lived in its arms and swung from its fingers the old tire swing swaying the wind moving it for us The veins of the tree bulging up from the earth creating footholds falling leaves landing on our shoulders, our shoes like round, circular hairs unlike our own Ants crawling up and down the slats of wood We fastened to the tree’s body the nails piercing the bark like mosquitoes biting into flesh Sunlight pouring through the tree’s branches warming our hair, our skin as we climbed into its embrace hand over hand always searching, yearning for something just out of reach Sitting high above the ground We pulled from the tree its bark like removing candy from its wrapper We tugged away its skin knowing we shouldn’t but doing it anyway For that summer, we were queens of nature, of the earth We ruled that tree, and it was our domain three little girls defying gravity and odds but in life trees die and little girls grow up But this moment lasts forever