“I think that I shall never see...’’ begins one of the first poems learned as a child. It resonated deeply with my experience. On this Earth Day I am remembering the poplar trees. They grew at the edge of a hardwood forest near our beloved crabapple tree. I was with a friend, free ranging the neighborhood. Standing in front of this slim stand of trees, we each grabbed hold of a tree and started climbing. The alternating branches, although slender held our little bodies. Up, up into the narrowest, tip top of the tree we climbed until our weight made the tree begin to sway downward. Once the elasticity of the tree equaled our weight, we joyfully pulled up. To my surprise we became pendulums swaying in increasing arcs of joy, wind blowing in our hair. Blessed be Mother Earth’s children who can play unsupervised.
