Childhood tree memory...

Darkness of night
I'd lie on the ground
And skywatch
Dark tree-crown shapes
Would become a parade
Of mystical animals
Watching over me
Under the stars

The cursed perch...

And once again
The avalanche of explanation buries me
I lay crumpled beneath the giant rocks
Pummeled into silence and self-doubt
Hearing the voices of past accusers
Leveling me back
To the perch of paralysis
Once again