Overhead & Overheard

Eagle flying in the air
all alone, always there
ever circling
what do you see on the ground
cold, dark, dank, brown
circling, ever circling

Over treetops, over farms
lying fallow – is it flight keeps you alive?
time long gone I’d lay
watching as you worked the currents
finally running in for the kill
I too rode the winds
lined up, ran in for the kill

Do you grow weary of flight
or just the kill?

Gazing out my window
into grey skies – earthbound now
the engine of my youth run down, I
think about the small yellow cub
that first bore me into the skies, when
I reached but for a moment and touched heaven

When did living to fly become
flying to live, joy turn to task
touching heaven become creating a hell

Through the window I yet
can feel the quickening pulse
how does one describe that
which is too large for the heart to hold?

No more
to strap on
sonic wings of gold
explode and scream into the sky
winter’s quiet is for gentler things
to go aloft by degrees – perhaps to
once more reach out for heaven and
slip loose of earth before they know I’m gone

Similar Posts

  • Broken Wing

    Tiny bird inside his breast pocket you are like the young three-footed buck and squirrel laying in the rain with a broken hip Science cannot heal all should we have left you to die? Young buck once jumped with a grace man never could squirrel – laughed with a zest unmatched How does your heart…

  • Treasures

    At the end of the second floor hall was a step (up) and door leading to the third floor Among the small spaces created by the eaves I could hide and feel snug except Just before Christmas when it was off limits Straight ahead the attic peak held a random assortment of boxes, suitcases, furniture…

  • Irony

    We never wanted two cats and a dog the white picket fence and the station wagon The world waited just over the horizon Odd isn’t it how our fondest memories are of kids and dogs two old cats rule we no longer need yet have two station wagons all a part of creating a place…

  • Early AM

    After reaching the waterfront she settled on the old concrete bulkhead next door I at the end of the dock Maisie rested against my hip as Fox and I regarded each other from a suitable distance A few water birds passed lazily overhead but did not disturb And so we sat ignoring, and wondering about…

  • Gifts

    When my first cat died I cried as if my heart would break mourning though they did not find her until the next day My small, thin body lay arms pulled close trying in vain to hold me together I can touch the pain as if it were yesterday We played and rode bikes sneaked…

  • Walking

    I love the sense of freedom and quiet the sights sounds and smells that I experience on an early morning walk Rabbits silently lope from spot to spot in search of breakfast an old dog greets us from well within his castle gates Occasionally someone else is also up and walking usually (like me) with…

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *