THE ROPE SWING


Branches twisting together in earthly form
Green leafs mixed yellow and red
The tree grew directionless
Roots impassioned driving through the ground

A rope hung long from the a branch
She swung for hours alone
Back and forth lost in fantasy
Sitting on the knot tied wide

Slowly, with occasion to push from the dirt below
Then back to the melancholy rhythm
Her thoughts momentary on the Sun�s warmth
From shade to bright light

The grass tall and brown from the summer days
Closing her eyes and drifting away
Losing the world about her
Forgetting the lunch waiting for her on the rock beside the tree

Voices and laughter from the distance
Entering her mind with slight resistance
Solitude is all that she wanted
Still they came to swing on the old tree

Sharing her age and size
Hair flowing in the breeze
Running toward the tree
They wanted their turn to swing and lose themselves

She retreated from the rope, regretfully
Sat on the rock and ate her lunch without taste
Listening to the noises of the others
Knowing they did not understand the magic within

The ability to travel to worlds of imagination
Looking off from the hill to the water below
Too far off to hear the waves lapping on the sand
Maybe if she tried very hard the rock will be magical too

The voices began to fade
Then she drifted off, further into her mind
Yes she thought, the magic is here too
Fantasy and dreams await her where ever she is

Michael V Hechtman Copyright � 2001