Midnight Swing

Midnight Swing
(from Stop Pretending: What Happened When My Big Sister Went Away)

When I can't fall asleep
I sneak out to the yard
and climb onto the swing
that's attached to a branch
of sweet scented pine.

As I glide though the night
and I hang back my head
I see stars and a moon
that's following me
through the evergreen trees.

And I fly on my swing
through the midnight ice cold
as the swirling white clouds
of my own frozen breath
brush my tingling cheeks.

And my nightgown wafts up
and my hair billows out
as I float through the air
and there's only the sound
of the dark whooshing past.

And my thought drift to you
on a day long ago
when my legs were too short
so you helped me climb up
and you taught me to pump.

---Sonya Sones