if i could do anything
be anything

you'd find me way up with the clouds
i'd be a fearsome sight!
all tawny-brown, white-speckled feathers backlit by a rising sun
oh yes, the dream of my childhood
was to have wings
was to fly

unstoppable, i'd
soar in a low-pressure sea of blue
my wingtips carving clouds
into the most beautiful sculptures

adrenalin, epinephrine
sixty miles an hour
rising,
              diving,
rising,
              diving,
loop-de-loops and barrel rolls
death-defying stunts
blink and you'll miss me

i'd drift so gently
so effortlessly
free to move
with the stratosphere as my stage
each powerful beat of my wings
lofting me higher, faster, higher

looking down,
everything so small below my
dangling feet
giant leaps
from treetop to roof to treetop
wings casting the prettiest of shadows
long feathers feeling the wind ebb and flow

my back aches with longing, sometimes.
you can never really be rid
of the dreams you conceive at twilight
the dreams you imagine with a young mind
in my dreams, i can fly.