BARKING UP TREES

Each morning I crawl out from under the bed
Solitude hits me
as those dream people scurry back to safety
somewhere deep down into the sheltering blankets and sheets
tucked in tight
to hide all day long
and I step outside
sniff around daily
I bark up trees
beautiful blossoming trees
their branches and arms reach out to me
beckoning
as if they needed to hear my pleas
as much as their shade
their fruit
their sustaining filtering of the very air I breathe
keep me from harm.
And again with the squirrels
they scurry
like tiny annoying boyfriends
on to the next tree
no loyalty
no glance behind them
I run back and forth
putting the fear of dog into them
but they always return
taunting me
for I am an anachronism to them
long in the tooth
same old stories
same old songs
but the trees
every day
they see me coming
they reach out again to me
they comfort me
they show me the natural beauty of things
I protect them
make them feel special
but there is always that moment
that one small slip in time
when I wonder if today
I'm just barking up the wrong tree.

~ spontaneous poem written on Facebook contemplating the dating scene. 9/30/08