Climb a Tree

Shaded from the sunray hot
In midday breath,
In midday rest,
Eyeing an agile squirrel from my cot
Climb a tree,

A tree I used to climb in my youth
In summertime
In years gone by,
I would from limb to limb, in truth,
Climb a tree.

Forty-five feet in a lofty tree,
A sailing ship,
A fire tower,
Looking toward a future yet to be?
Climb a tree.

A voice below shouts, "Dinner! Dinner!"
So skinny arms,
So skinny legs
Shinny to the ground to later
Climb a tree.

A cherry tree on outstretched limb
Above the ground,
Below the crown,
Precariously hugging, watching him
Climb a tree,

A BIG tree with small, sweet fruit
Within far reach,
Without young fear
To teach, as carefully he tries to prove it,
Climb a tree.

Men climb trees in dwindling forests
For building homes,
For building fires
On cozy hearths while a heart rests.
Climb a tree.

A sycamore, growing wide and strong and
Monkey bar arms,
Jungle gym rings,
A place to be and hang and dangle long and
Climb a tree.

Drawing by Chappell Rose Holt.

This poem appears in Carry the Light: Stories, Poems and Essays from the San Mateo County Fair, the San Bruno Patch, the Burlingame Patch, the Pacifica Patch, and our chapbook entitled Rings.

Bardi Rosman Koodrin, Literary Director of the Fine Arts Galleria, San Mateo County Fair, writes in the San Bruno Patch, "Aside from contributing his inspiring poetry, Tom also won the book cover art contest we ran at the San Mateo County Fair in conjunction with our literary contests. We just loved the silvery elegance of his photo, Light Flow, and we knew this had to be the cover of our first published Carry the Light anthology. And his lovely wife, Joanne Shwed of backspaceink.com, did the graphics that made the cover art come alive. Be sure to read today's excerpt of her award-winning essay, Jumping Off. Quite a talented couple!"