Michael T. Young: To Fly

First, there must be a cloud or wind, something

drifting, or sweeping away from the branches

on which we’ve perched, some proof of direction,

the far fields of possibility and its cozy nest.

.

Next, there must be something lighting the way,

though not light, per se, but what allows us to see,

to maneuver through trees and hills, dodge birdshot,

the murderous deniers of our distant desires.

.

Maybe it’s a vision so clear the dark can’t darken it,

and the mountainous range of roadblocks

and barricades can’t dim the image of it. It’s fixed

and steady. An unchanging map in our blood,

.

a compass in our bones pointing to the true north

of our nature, sparking the final impulse to open

to the world that needs us, to spread the full extent

of our wings that are now ready to bear us up. 

Copyright 2022 Michael T. Young

Michael T. Young’s third full-length collection, The Infinite Doctrine of Water, is available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, or directly from Terrapin Books.