I looked up, at the snow-draped pine boughs
As I stood in the branches of a tree that no one owns
A tree that rises between two fences,
That as I child, I never once climbed
But today, an almost-adult, I finally did

I looked up, from underneath the heat of my winter hood
As I packed snow onto the stairs and set my tube at the top
As a child, I never would have dared this feat
What with icy water so close by
But today, I calculate my risk and then my snow tube and I
Set off to fly

I looked up, from the depths of the snow
Cradled by an angel of my own making
The world lowered to background noise
I watched thin brown braches thrash and bow in the wind
And I wondered at how different I am from childhood me

How I could live so vividly now
Yet not feel happy

I smile, crinkling the frost-bitten skin around my eyes
And let my thoughts fall away like drifting snowflakes
For a moment in time, restoring my heart to a purity that only exists
In the first seconds after a snow storm

Tainted innocence no more.