Fireflies dance in the trees.
I climb branch by branch
trying to catch them.
They would fly just out of my reach
and I’d lean back to watch.
Up here, the world is far away.
I can escape
and enjoy the view.
My parents’ cottage is a dot on the horizon.
Trees of all sizes surround me.
During the breaks from bad days, I play by myself.
Creating an imaginary world of families and love.
Or doing what I am doing now,
climbing trees,
dreading when I need to go down.
Can I just live up here?
Stay here forever and ever?
Never have to go to school.
Build a tree house to be safe from the weather.
My friends say it would be strange to be so high up
and to live by myself.
I don’t care. I would have a fireplace for heat
like my grandparents do in their cabin.
I’d eat porridge like the 3 bears
and pretend I am Goldilocks.
I would be the happiest kid ever.
Love this – a return to childhood and innocence, free from worry! Great idea to pull in Goldilocks to deal with the word ‘porridge’! Sadly, I couldn’t find a way to include that word in my poem.