Dreams Long Gone Poem by Paige Welch

Massive dark green leaves that never turn brown
In bright, shining sun that never goes down
Higher and higher the branches did go
Held by chains of parental rules, my foe

Braving the elements stirs the most fun
Though nothing ever showed except the sun
Bright, yellow, horrid, and rather humid
Sweat on a brow is quite cumulative

Twigs underneath feet would crack on contact
Climb up high but never fall due to tact
Nervous mother watching from window sill
Praying her small child won’t jump and keep still

Bumpy, rigid, dark wood with prickly bark
Scratches a child’s hand without blistered marks
She wants to climb higher and higher up
To kiss the sky with clouds that look like pups

Alas, she must say goodbye to the tree
She waits to see for things to come and be
Though limbs still twist like that of a young fawn
It’s time to bid farewell to dreams long gone

The mighty, green tree still stands in her heart
Reminder that she and youth shall never part
Age forces the limbs of the tree to bend
Heart of a child shall harden and then mend

Climbing trees, a fantasy, that are no more
Adult mind, adult words her mouth must pour
No more the innocence of a sweet fawn
Now bid farewell to dreams of youth long gone.