'Carry the Light' Excerpt: Climb a Tree

Editor's Note: For the first time in the history of the San Mateo County Fair, a 300-page anthology has been published that includes more than 100 stories, poems and essays from writers who submitted award-winning work for the fair's literary contest. The idea was the brainchild of Bardi Rosman Koodrin, a San Bruno resident who runs the fair's literary contest, and the anthology, titled "Carry the Light," features work from many Peninsula writers.

From p. 178, "Climb a Tree"

Shaded from the sunray hot
In midday breath,
In midday rest,
Eyeing an agile squirrel from my cot
Climb a tree,

A tree I used to climb in my youth
In summertime
In years gone by,
I would from limb to limb, in truth,
Climb a tree.

Forty-five feet in a lofty tree,
A sailing ship,
A fire tower,
Looking toward a future yet to be?
Climb a tree.

A voice below shouts, "Dinner! Dinner!"
So skinny arms,
So skinny legs
Shinny to the ground to later
Climb a tree.

A cherry tree on outstretched limb
Above the ground,
Below the crown,
Precariously hugging, watching him
Climb a tree,

A BIG tree with small, sweet fruit
Within far reach,
Without young fear
To teach, as carefully he tries to prove it,
Climb a tree.

Men climb trees in dwindling forests
For building homes,
For building fires
On cozy hearths while a heart rests.
Climb a tree.

A sycamore, growing wide and strong and
Monkey bar arms,
Jungle gym rings,
A place to be and hang and dangle long and
Climb a tree.

Excerpted from "Carry the Light" with the permission of Sand Hill Review Press, the publisher. The book is available for purchase for $12 on Amazon.com.

Thomas A. Ekkens is an artist, photographer, poet, and songwriter. His first book, Collected Poetry of Thomas A. Ekkens—Early Works, was published in 1986 by Backspace Ink, a publishing company started by his wife, Joanne Shwed. Thomas has also authored a new poetry form, Ekkensian verse, a term coined by Pacifica poet laureate Rod Clark. To check out more of Thomas's work, visit www.taegallery.com.

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