“Hike”

Listen long enough
And you’ll remember the chorus
You imagined rich isolation
And found friends

Trickling waters
Cardinal’s song
Flooding questions
Whispering breeze

The owl slept above
Ruffling his feathers at the energy on the path below
It was not so quiet after all
The earth had much to say

We made bark boats
Like in the book we read
And sent them on their journeys
Boats like more than one, mama said

We danced along the running stream
Dad walked with you across it
Tiptoeing on the log
Terrifying your mother

You peeked over the edge
And ran ahead
Enough times to make them call out in warning
Just in case your wanderings take you too far
There were no straps here
No buckles
No belts
No wheels

Just your legs
And your airplane arms
Free from the confines
of modern life

Is it a date? you asked
A mommy date?
A family date.
With daddy and mommy and baby brother

A quick adventure
To celebrate another year of life
To replenish souls
And build memories

That you often look back on
Now that you’re very much older
Knowing these moments
Have made you who you are