Sheri Pryor
That Old Oak Tree
Sitting underneath the oak tree on the swing, I look back to see you coming. I smile, and turn back around. I start kicking my legs, and looking down at them waiting for that sudden burst of energy into the air. Before I feel that touch of air under my feet, I feel an embrace of warmth and kindness from behind me, and it was you. You hug me around my waist and rest your head on my shoulder. I rest my head against yours and kiss it once. Afterwards, I feel that gust of wind, that burst of energy into the sky from my back. I’m one with the dusk of the evening, the sunset on the horizon hidden past the trees, and one with you at my side. The sun is finally going to rest while the moon awakes. I want to reach past the skyline, past the moon, past the stars. I realize I don’t need to expand, I have an unexplored universe, my desired future with you. I finally start to feel the decrease in the cool air hitting my legs, and I feel the tickle of grass on my feet with the glowing fireflies on the ground hidden from the world. You come to my side once I stop, and grab my hand. Hand in hand, we run into the endless country field of tall grass until we stop at a small tree. By now, it is already night, so the stars are shining bright as the moon watches over them. I walk to the small tree to see a blanket set up with sodas laying at the foot of the tree. I stop and look at it; a surge of warm happiness fills me. I smile and turn to you; you just give me a smile. You turn to me to say, “Surprise.” We hug and kiss as we lie there under the tree and watch the endless twilight sparkle.