jdubqca

Higher in the sky

my father climbs the maple tree
behind his mother’s house

climbing to the very top
he believes he is a boy again

from a higher perspective
he sees a horse with wings
grazing in a meadow outside of town

he calls for his mother to see

but his mother doesn’t hear him
she is in the kitchen baking pies
& preserving fruit for the winter

my father falls from the tree
landing on his feet like a cat

he saunters off in search of the horse
with wings grazing in a meadow

my father walks out of town carrying
a bunch of carrots

back home his mother is ringing the dinner bell

mounting onto the back of the horse
my father cannot hear the kitchen bell

before long he is climbing higher in the sky





november two thousand twenty-four
copyright j matthew waters
all rights reserved