Climbing Upward

I found us, laughing in a photo,

a snapshot of childhood, bright and bold,

in the leaves of that old oak,

shadows pooled like memories unspooled,

sunlight through green, casting magic,

our voices rang like bells in the breeze,

while the world below faded away,

into the background of worries and unease.

We conquered branches, scraped knees,

every climb a journey up, beyond

what we thought we knew, where nothing

is as clear as that feeling of flight,

reaching out, holding hands,

trust hanging thick as sap,

leaving behind the ground's weight,

as time flickered like sunlight's dance.