Thin Branches

Dead batteries get caught in the
small gaps between sidewalk tiles,
and slowly leak green acid onto
the concrete. She still has tiny scars
on her legs from running
through the woods when she was
a kid, and they make her happy while
she looks at them. One of the them was
shaped like a fishing hook and her
grandfather would always assure her
that it was good luck. She often wondered
what it would be like to go back between those
trees again; to search for signs of her past self
etched into the tree bark or buried in the shallow dirt.
Caterpillars shovel bits of leaves into their alien
mouths, and get so fat the thin branches start to break.