Learning to Fly

“You walk through doorways in the mind you can’t walk out then one day discover that you’ve learned to fly.”- Jim Harrison, Bird’s Eye View ;Songs of Unreason

It’s easier when you’re old to take wing on high
For you have nothing to fear but death
Death becomes our companion
In later years, lurking, waiting
For us to mis-step, to trip,
To slip into the abyss of nothingness
Or whatever else may await us.
Is this how the ocean feels
When it moves with moon tides
Merely going along for the ride
To see where it may lead?

When silken gossamer falls over our eyes
Deep sleep becomes our blissful retreat
Under the blue-black cloak of night
When our body slips far from sight
We soar through a star-studded sky
As we travel further away still bound
By a shimmering silver life-cord
A fragile hold to our physical self
Becomes the tether for our every breath
Are we blinded by a magnificent light
Or confused by ebony darkness?