What if the sun is shining
And the skies are deep and blue
And you look up for a moment,
Pausing,
To breathe and
Take it all in
And you see above you
Through the trees
High above the buildings
Heading south
But the direction is unimportant
For the moment, it could as easily be north, or east or west
Against the brilliant sapphire sky
And dandelion clouds, trailing tendrils
A group of birds
Flying in formation
Distant black outlines
And you think in that instant
What it must be like to be a bird
To feel the lift of the air, propulsion acting on the lightest feather
On muscle, tendon, and bone
Unless the cloud tendrils are contrails, and the birds are bombers, and the rush of the breeze is the rush of engine noise, approaching
And today is yesterday, and
Intent is less innocent, and
The sun is still shining, against the sapphire blue
And still, you pause, to breathe.
caroline ridgway 