The Top Of The Giant Oak

I was a boy when I first climbed the Oak, Whose branches were so vast They seemed to stretch out for hundreds Of feet in all directions Whose limbs reached and searched, Groping for the touch of the other trees

Even though the other trees shrank away from it's majestic size

There was a barrier that I wanted to tear down So that I might see why the other trees Would want to withhold their leaves from the Oak

And as I struggled to climb, Scraping my shins and tearing away the skin From the tips of my fingers I also found that I could dissolve my self-doubt

I reached the top at sunset And I discovered not God Or inner peace Or some serendipitous refection of self

I found a nest of five birds which, Without sound or ceremony Simply spread their wings and flew into the sun

Whereas I, I would have to climb down and begin again

There was a barrier that I wanted to tear down But how should I know if it was mine?