I have been thinking a lot lately
about a giant pine tree that once belonged to me (or so I told myself),
which stood in front of my childhood home.
I’d duck under the bows of evergreen and climb up into the branches,
where I’d peek through the pine needles to watch the world go by,
knees and fingers sticky with sap.
I imagined it was my very own house,
envisioned how I’d divide the spacious floor beneath that canopy of branches
into separate rooms – a kitchen, a bedroom, a lookout deck.
These memories came flooding back
when we walked through this incredible tree house of sorts,
made entirely out of willow branches by artist Patrick Dougherty
for the Minnesota Landscape Arboretum.
It has rooms like I’d once imagined my tree house could and should have,
all made of twisted twigs that let light – and rain – trickle in.
Every angle from inside and out leaves me breathless.
I half expect to see Max from Where The Wild Things Are
leading a loud procession of monsters in and out and around
this newfangled, nature-inspired palace.
I want to play, too.
Would it be wrong to just pack up my stuff and move in?
Beauty Tip: Climb a tree today or at least sit beneath one, making a point to look up at the sunlight dancing among the leaves. What a glorious sight!
