The Adventures Have Begun

You saw the boy inside,
wide-eyed,
cowering beneath
self-protective folds
and duty sheers.

You reached for the boy inside,
held his hand,
showed him fragments of the outdoors -
transformed twigs, stones and shells
into cherished keepsakes.

You trusted the boy inside,
gave him an atlas
filled with your secret mappings -
let his curious fingers trace
the contours of your dreams.

You touched the boy inside,
accpeted his acorn-token of love
and traded it for a thimble.
Beginning in the branch of a silver-birch,
the adventures have begun.