no birds.
no wispy feathers high in the sky.
only layered smudges of ashen clouds
with hints of deep cyan
as far as the eye can see,
the only pure light
sourced from the few rays of sunshine
filtering through,
setting the world on fire.

-l.s.

My breath beat shallow at a chest of stone as I looked out
At all of our houses that seemed so small from whence I stood
The sky’s true and radiant blue, I discovered at this altitude
Cloud rings spiraled down, the sun beams reflected off my goggles -
And my arms felt stiff, strapped into wings of enchanted brass
     When all of a sudden a gust swept –
          Me from the tip of my ride with such haste!
          From a cloud boat I dropped and gasped for my life!
          Cyclones of wind paddled my body and blew back my hair…
From a tumble, to falling with such grace,
I soared with a smile over my tiny little city -
And yearned at the horizon in its majesty -
     This moment and its treasures I had stolen for me.

Along the riverside.
Tweeting of birds, joyously they sing.
Rushing of water, crystal clear.
The whistling wind speaks, the waving leaves answer.
The scent of nature. Indescribable.
Up in the sky, the eyes of baby blue.
Snow white clouds above greener lands,
they speak of a language we do not understand.

One step up cloud we touch
Rainbow is close let’s go for the sky
Let’s do it now don’t delay
It’s time for a butterfly dance!

Rose is ours with a handful of earth
Tickled pink flower gives a smile.
Banish the morning blues away
down the feet the floor is ours.
It’s all clear written in the stars
Now is the time for a butterfly dance!

Be it in the day or in the night
Bask in the moonlight or in the sun
it’s not snowed under the seven seas
nor is tucked away up on the sky.
Still on the ground, the floor is ours
and it's time for a butterfly dance.

With the green we grow the river we follow
Left, right, east and west every way
it flows, open to all directions on its way
The world is open worldwide!
But what if in the midst is missing an eye?
The show is on with the hidden card
Let’s get it done it’s time for a butterfly dance!

I wish it wasn’t so hard to say “I don’t know”
to enter the cloud of unknowing
to be wrapped in solitude
and float there
free of activity
and self.