I used to stare up at the branches standing as a barrier to the sky.

Adorned yearly by a crown of flowers or unchanging as the blue above.

Guardians that provided shade and stood watch outside my window.

The sky looked strange in places where the horizon showed unhindered.

Missing some vital aspect.

A barren place where the sky observed my every move.

***

Years went by and suddenly the places where the trees stood were empty.

Viciously ripped out by the roots and mutilated to a stump.

Some by need and others for inadequate reason.

All without warning or choice.

Oh how I would have begged for their safety and just one to survive.

The clarity of the sky was just too much to shoulder.

***

So I would prefer to stay inside away from the windows.

The trees still existing in thought and memory.

Until I can almost feel turning around and seeing them in person.

No amount of stained glass art on the windows could substitute.

Reality could not quite be covered up.

The places where the trees remained empty until I gave up on the idea and forgot the exact locations where they stood.

***

But things are different now.

Saplings will appear in the yard soon.

I can already see them from my window.

The sky still watches but somehow it is already easier.

The sky will soon be carried by other than me.

Pillars filled in by the places where the trees stand.