SANCTUARY

I saw a broken branch on a small
Pear tree in my front yard
And I started to finish
breaking off this poor branch

But it was beginning to sprout
Little green leaves and I worried
About the tree feeling pain or fear
As they are living things

I used to worry about hurting trees
When I was a kid, too
They were my friends and I could climb
High up into their protecting branches

And hide from my grandmother whom I feared
The leaves would me cloak in regal silence
Where I could look down at my grandmother
As she would stand and angrily call my name

Looking for me in vain
Sometimes I would stay in my tree all afternoon
Waiting for my mother to come home
Then I could climb down from my safety up above

Where I was hidden from my hurtful world below
Today I tried to be a friend to a tree and save its
Loving branches from this hurtful world and to
Return a favor from many so years ago