you were the tallest tree, the oldest and the wisest, in a forest of fever dreams. i climbed to the top of your branches and when you swayed in the wind i could feel you breathe beneath me and longed for your stability until i lost my footing on your slippery words.

and i am reminded of this every time i drive too fast with the windows down, like the air is being ripped from my lungs and i’m gasping but it never feels quite as good as i remembered.

when i hit the ground i wasn’t running anymore. my bones shattered into shards of glass but they finally reflected the light and among them flowers grew with stems like your kisses, stems like your strengths, stems like us sprouting out of forevers.

i thought we would last forever, as one often does in the beginning of everything.

in the beginning there was nothing, and then it became everything. it became the stars that we are now, specks of dust floating aimlessly.

a window never closes, you just forget to look. there is always opportunity to grow.

if i could ever climb that tree again i would make a home for myself in the top of its branches because the view from up there was beautiful. even in storms, you weathered well.