I sit with my back to the cherry tree with its roots in the sky, and think about how much easier life would've been with the world like this: upside down, hanging from the clouds. the ground would've seemed a lot nearer. there would've been far less distance to fall. the child in me loves how gravity pulls her closer but my bones don't sit cross legged inside my skin the way they used to; my heart is too big for these ribs. my chest no longer aches for hands to fill the empty space. i sit with all the longing for love i outgrew at my feet and bury my hands in the sun, tell her how unafraid i am of burning. how every time was worth the fire under my skin. a hundred light years away from here and now, i look through the gaps in the fence. see how the ivy has grown over the garden wall and is reaching for the light on the other side.