My Branches

I was a guest in your succulent realm:
A ship lost at sea, and i at the helm
Your rivers ran deep, through the grooves in your skin
And i rowed through them all in a small plastic bin
Through rapids and white waterfalls
I rowed through them all, i rowed through them all
I’m too scared to touch in your fragile museum:
All these treasures on display, it ain’t enough just to see them
I wandered through your branches and pines
Left only footprints, but took what was mine
Through cedar and white alder trees
All tangled in leaves, all tangled in leaves
I climbed your geography
To find what made you
And what made me
I held you close to my skin
So that we might lose track
Of where we begin
I felt like a child at play in the grass:
Curious hands picking up, and then putting back
The whole world ached to reach back for me
But i hid from its fingers in the trunk of your tree
Through windstorms and white splintered wood
You’ll shelter me good, please shelter me good
I climbed your geography
To find what made you
And what made me
I held you close to my skin
So that we might lose track
Of where we begin
But why don’t you ever explore
My branches, my rivers
My forests, my shores?
You never left a footprint or mark
Save a set of initials
You carved in the bark
Credits