Decision Tree

You climb up into the world,
A pilot in your cockpit,
Monkey clambering your tree,

And you check your instruments,
And you look around and think
What will I do with this world—

What will this world do to me?
Things happen. There are events.
You’re shaken, then you’re serene.

You adjust your position
Or cling harder to your branch.
You squint. You issue commands

To yourself, to anyone
Listening on your wavelength.
You try to get organized,

To be more than one person,
To coordinate a team,
An active community,

A squadron, troupe in the trees,
An entity in the world,
Engaging things, doing things.

You don’t climb any higher,
But the blue goes beyond you
And the night beyond your team.

Then one hour while you’re busy,
You fall out of formation,
Tumble down, lost to the tree.