I came upon a wild cherry tree.
Sap was running down its side,
Sticky fingers poked inside.
Hide behind the trunk,
Count 1-2-3.
Smiled in the sunlight, shining free.
Then I became a teenage girl.
Too old for games, too young for pearls.
That cherry tree, it's sap run down,
Observed me laugh,
Observed me frown.
With wonderment of the world before,
The past behind, the future before.
Soon I became a woman, true,
Thought I'd be wise in a year or two.
Looked at the tree that grew so tall,
Realized that I, likewise, was small.
Poked sticky fingers in the sap of the tree,
Smiled in the sunlight, shining free.
Thought back to that tender time
When the tree was young and life sublime.