The Girl Who Could Not Fly

She lay in the grass

With her eyes toward the sky—

Wide from east to west—

And she why’d,

“What makes me different

from the rest,”

As a cloud floated by

Winking at the girl

Who could not fly.

 

 

Her daydreams fluttered

Like butterflies

And plans she made

Split the air

Likes bees darting

From flowers to trees

Not knowing what will come—

Even so—

Buzzing along.

 

 

As she listened to

The singing wind

Gather and rescind

Its voice

With playful grins

She learned a lesson

About coming close and

Tumbling back

Into the atmosphere

Where life continues

To breathe

Even in the midst—

In the absence of—

The things she thought

Would never leave,

Would always retrieve

Hidden places in her heart

Like brush strokes inside

A piece of art.

 

 

She felt the earth spinning

Like a merry-go-round

Flying from the ground

Into space

Where stars and moon

Recognize each face

As it passes along—

Singing familiar songs

Of the past and

The present and

The times in between

When young lovers hold hands

When old men and women kiss

And

When the choices we make

Change the fate

Of those who tread

Upon the dirt but

Do not touch

What is above the earth.

 

 

She felt her smallness

 

As a ray of sun—

Like hope—

Radiated and caught

The edges of

Glitter inside her skin—

The breathing life within,

And the way

All that made her “I”

Connected to all that

Was not of her

For the moments

In which her dust

Mingled among

The magic of life

And of hate and of love

And of wars and of lust.

 

 

Yesterday she felt a weight

Today a freedom came

Wherein Debussy still lives and

Elvis wiggles his hips

Where languages are many

Ideas are plenty

And the rhythm of

Being alive means

Saying hello and

Saying goodbye—

And still

The orchestra of

Nature and her melodies

Tumble low

Tickle her ear

While the voices of flowers

And of birds

Whisper secrets

Then disappear—

She understands

A marvelous truth:

Love expands our hearts

As hours grow the days

Disappointments are only silence when

Life is a song of praise.

 

—copyright Jill Szoo Wilson

(Photo credit: This poem was inspired by the beautiful work of artist, Elicia Edijanto.  http://www.eliciaedijanto.com)