(x = space)

x

x

if Icarus had reined in the glory just a little

(and how could he)

x

low above the ground

I think I could handle that

x

maybe that’s how

I fly in dreams

x

which hasn’t happened

for a while

x

I used to feel the muscles

just inside my shoulder blades

x

for wings extending

two times out

x

like birds

and then I’d rise

x

from the backyard

or wherever

x

feel the strain

muscles thrumming silently

x

inside

over rooftops

x

of the neighbor homes

I’d know

x

the dreams ending with the rising

and a little more

x

a promise

I suppose

x

that flight is good

and I should rise a little higher

x

next time

I don’t know

x

it is understandable

to glory in the moment

x

then go for more

moments and glory in this

x

can youth

or anyone with freedom

x

in the sky

not want more

x

want to go on

get closer to the source

x

yet we are reined in

by expectations

x

and the limits

of our vehicles

x

someday we might have wings

that aren’t restrained

x

by metal

or by sun

x

which is why we dream

perhaps

x

design on paper

in the morning

x

or the evening

just before retiring

x

to set ourselves

maybe

x

to dream some more

over rooftops

x

over planets

in alliance

x

with the sun

this time

x

we awake

to design

x

and make

with nature

x

our impulses

to be free

x

beyond the confines

of ourselves

x

as it is

(and shall be)

x

negotiating mortal

with immortal

x

our vision

(not the looking)

x

for our sustenance

of spirit

x

C L Couch

x

x

Photo by History in HD on Unsplash

Originally from the Library of Congress, this AI recoloured photograph depicts early aviator Steve MacGordon circa 1915 in the cockpit of a biplane shortly before his death. MacGordon was one of the earliest pioneers in aviation and held many of the inaugural records in flight.

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