Once
by Marissa Brandt

 

Once when I was young,

a big box-elder tree

stood in our front yard.

Big, its branches grew wide and long.

The perfect tree for climbing.

Friends came to play,

But the tree got sick and had to be cut.

Leaves turned shades of orange and red

On nearby trees, snow came covered the ground

Like a clean, white, brand-new page.

I grew older and no longer

Did childlike things.

The left over stump sat in my front yard.

The remains of my past childhood.