Trees

I've always liked trees. Ever since I was a kid, trees for some reason held special interest to me. I used to climb a willow tree that we had in our yard, and I'd torture my dolls by tossing them up as high as they could go into the tree and hoping they'd get stuck so that the 'prince' or 'male doll' would have to save them (This would be accomplished by my throwing the aforementioned doll up into the tree and whacking the already stuck 'princess' out of the tree where the two would fall in harmony to the ground. On the occasion that they both became captured in the clutches of the tree, my dad would be outside with a ladder patiently trying to pry the toys from the high dungeon I'd created). I didn't have an overactive imagination at all. Neither did I love fairy tales...oh no...

It's been years since I've thrown anything up into a tree, but I've been struck as of late with how truly beautiful they are. I was driving down the road today and I noticed all these bare trees scraping the brilliant blue sky and my heart felt like it was going to explode from pure awe. The shape of the gnarled branches reaching for the great expanse was breathtaking. It was like hundreds of arms stretched high, searching for more than their present condition would allow.

Sometimes I feel like one of those trees. Reaching...calling...into the unknown. I feel like I'm calling for answers to questions I haven't even asked. Sometimes, however; I feel like one of the dolls caught in the tree. Unable to get myself out of a situation, having to wait patiently for Someone to come and pry me loose.

At the moment I identify with both doll and tree. I feel as if I'm reaching as far as I can, but still stuck in a prison (partly of my own making). I'm waiting, but I'm searching in my wait and I hope I never stop grasping for the answers.