The Perils of Reading

Anything was possible

as I sat up in the tree,

gnarled branches encircling me

like the loving arms of a parent.

A queen surveying her kingdom

from a throne of branches,

bathing in afternoon sunlight

as it broke through the forest.

Wayward beams of gold

dripped from the leaves,

making simple creek water

burst into a thousand, rushing stars.

I could be anyone,

like the girl in my book.

A daring, ocean-fairing pirate

perched on the mast of her ship.

A huntress, silently stalking

among the musicians of the forest.

But all of who I am seems to end

with the setting of the sun.

The regal Queen, daring pirate,

and mighty keeper of the forest

melting away into inky pools

of evening's looming shadow.

Now I'm nothing,

just a scared girl in tattered jeans

and a frayed t-shirt. Staring...

staring wide eyed through the trees

that rise like tombstones against

a stark and swiftly graying sky.

Frozen as a rabbit before the hungry eyes of a fox.

Like the ones staring from the darkening woods,

they seem to make a mockery of fear.

Black water reflects the pale, scared face

of a queen whose kingdom has turned against her.

A girl staring down her fate from a rickety plank.

So I ran for my life,

forest walls closing in like jagged teeth.

I imagined my body being swallowed whole,

the harsh roar of water silencing my screams.

With a cry I slip, my palms bloodied on the rocks,

the creek's icy fingers creeping up my legs.

And then like a beacon my salvation rose,

twin windows glowing pale gold in the distance,

like the fiery eyes of a majestic dragon.

I emerged from my fallen kingdom,

shaken and chilled, but triumphant.

The Queen lives on.

Author's Note

I was trying to portray not only an event of my childhood, but also the feelings that everyone goes through as they are traversing the dangerous path to adulthood. Deep, I know -_-.

Reviews

[Distant horizons]

excellent. you got all that from climbing a tree? beautifully told tale.