grey t-shirt with kids

the solace of the shade

the crisp of the trampled leaves

the ridges of the bark our hands traced

as we rounded a bend to discover an escape –

a world where shame vanished and creativity flourished.

we were alive in that place

among the innocent creatures

our make believe friends

weaving upward as we grew alongside the branches

as still as the fallen trunks

crossing through time.

there, we were untouched and free

where little you and little me

could be.