their eyes don’t need to pierce cloud

wings don’t have to be told to extend

see how they coax the wind into submission

 

watch them tumble in harnessed waves of sky

their silent agreement

in effortless flight

 

their grace lands with them

sinks into the earth as they struggle to walk

 

children chase them back into the clouds

watching their small bodies soar

wishing more than ever that they had been birds

 

the blades of their wings

scar the mountains, the hills

yet they flinch upon the movement

 

of the white blouse in the window

the young woman who holds a wineglass to her ear

and listens

 

for the husky whisper

of crows’ wings navigating the fog

but there are no branches here for them

no perch where they might curl their toes

where she could study the darting blues and purples

on their backs

 

where can they go to avoid setting foot

on the rocky ground

upon which they are destined to stumble

 

we pray

let there always be a gentle sea

an uplifting wind

a forest lush with lazy years

 

the gulls cry out

where can they go

the waves are churning

earthward