Pretending I Can Fly

Pretending I Can Fly
© Surazeus
2024 10 03

At night I dream my tan-white skin is rough 
as old wind-weathered hills of the Palouse 
where Pinto horses graze on memories 
when I roamed freely on dark river shore 
where I sit and watch spotted brook trout swim 
along pulsing veins that lead to my heart. 

I cannot read my children fairy tales 
without explaining laws of physics first 
so they know if they dress as Tinkerbell 
they cannot fly around the heads of elves 
nor cast enchanting spells of joyful love 
to make the suicidal want to live. 

Concerned about how weird future events 
unravel fabric of our shared world view, 
I study swirls of clouds above gold hills 
to measure how greedy humans will act 
based on clear aeromantic principles 
so I can write prophecies in the sky. 

Plain-speaking honesty of the blank sky 
lures me to fly with wings of Icarus 
above vast maze of cities on the Earth 
to see how gods of nations represent 
their spirit in the person they elect 
to rule religious rites of daily life. 

While lounging under ancient Tree of Life, 
watching its roots throb with ichor of being, 
I ponder what Camus says about Death 
whose mute finality of nothingness 
inspires my heart to savor this life now 
here in stark beauty of this radiant world. 

Since we must love one another and die, 
I will give you ripe apple that I stole 
from Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil 
which wakes strange visions in our dream membrane 
about horror of war which drives insane 
children who survive each new genocide. 

When Li Po fishes for the Water Moon, 
cranes call to him with soft voice of friendship, 
so he swims down into the silver sky 
to bid farewell to everyone he knows 
who gasp surprised to see that he can fly 
yet leaves his last song as footprints in snow. 

While exploring vast land of in-between, 
with mission to count every drop of rain 
which all transform to fruit trees in lush fields, 
I discover my soul is formed from clay 
so I stick feathers of hawks in my arms 
and run around pretending I can fly.