I climbed a tree too high for me,
Ascending to the skies,
My Babel tower, great, lofty,
to love and idolize.

Its branches green with early leaves
And all with flowers crowned,
I, wand'ring in its blooming eaves,
Did not attend the ground.

Lost in the bold and sweet bird-song
And heedless of the risk,
I drove upward, and branches strong
I grasped within my fist.

The way was easy, and the day,
with blossom-draughts perfumed,
Poured golden sun upon my way
The path that I had doomed.

At last I grasped the highest twig
that could my weight withstand,
topped with a lacy flower sprig
I plucked with fearless hand.

Alas for me, my single-mind
That danger did deny,
For far away on my ascent
The storm-clouds did arise.

And as I held that final bough,
The wind began to grow,
And sun, which during my ascent
Cast shadows down below,

Was hidden in an instant when
The clouds consumed its light.
The altitude that grand had been,
was now a source of fright.

The rushing tempest shook the tree
As I tightened my hold,
But those strong branches proved flimsy,
For I had been too bold.

Thus snapped the limb beneath my feet,
And though my hands clung fast,
They clung to naught but blossoms sweet
Whose blooming time was past.

I fell! Oh God, how then I prayed,
As branches snagged my skin.
And halfway down, my arms all splayed,
I seized a passing limb.

Now the rain began to fall,
Not slow, but all at once.
I grappled with this tree so tall
As one an ent confronts.

The ground was still so far below;
My blood dripped in my face.
I had fetched a mighty blow,
My joy now my disgrace.

Anyone who has climbed a tree
Most certainly does know:
However free ascent may be,
Descent is fraught and slow.

The branches that present themselves
Along the upward climb
Seem very small and far away
Seen below and behind.

And so it was, and doubly so,
when in the raging gale
I clung to slick and shaking boughs,
My heart and strength would fail.

Did I bring this upon myself?
I did not call this storm.
And yet, clinging to my tree shelf,
my skin and clothing torn,

My aching head and swimming eyes
Struggling to think and see,
I know I climbed beyond my strength
And to warning paid no heed.

No thought for clouds so far away,
No care for their foreboding.
I longed to touch the sky of day
And stand high as a queen.

I reached for what I wanted now,
The future all be damned.
Lulled by the easy sunlit boughs,
I left the solid land.

But now the tree has proven weak,
The storm has opened strong.
The journey up was proud and free,
The journey down is long.

I lack the strength to best the wind,
The lightning and the rain.
I climbed the tree with no recourse
To get back down again.