I’ve been climbing
up a winding oak

It’s stump twisting and turning
I held tightly to my rope

I journeyed past the vast wooden trunk,
past tiny ant colonies, and lady bug beetles

I made my way up to the top
past thorny branches that felt like needles

I found a canopy of leaves and sunshine
as I climbed further up the tree

But my foot slipped, my heart skipped,
and I dared to look below me

I had pictured below for so long,
Imagining an endless pit of doom

How surprised I felt when instead I saw
grass and flowers in full bloom

I stopped climbing then and just let go,
No longer in need of a tight rope

I spent so long climbing
up that old oak

I forgot to feel the breeze around me,
to listen when my heart spoke.