I remember

The quiet space

Where we played underneath the trees

I remember

Climbing the up redwoods

Branch after branch

Thirty feet above the ground

I remember

We were told not to climb

“Because you will fall”

But we climbed anyway

I remember the smell of those trees

Clinging to the trunk

Breathing in sweet, sappy dust

I remember

Strong branches beneath my feet

Holding me up

I remember

The pain from the splinters

And scrapes from the hard wood

Yet the feeling of sadness

When I had to climb back down

I remember

Leaning into a blissful breeze

You could only feel up in the trees

I remember

We climbed the trees

Until they cut the lowest branches

I remember

They told us to get out

Because we were hurting the trees

I remember

The feeling of being yelled at

Knowing I had done nothing wrong

I remember

Once they cut the branches

We still tried to climb

But we were too small

I know

I could climb now

But I’m not the same

I’d be afraid to fall

I haven’t climbed trees in years

I just look up at them now

But I remember

Being up in the sky

Looking down on everyone else