Cool light, far away
fingers reach
invisible limits
borders to bend and break
wings folded at my side,
all wax & straps & eagle feathers
embrace the eagle,
buckled tight around my chest
heartbeat...tension wire
letting go...no fear
my toes touch air
suspended for a moment
then higher, warmer
I dance with moths
toward the vanishing point
it does not recede
but welcomes the audacity
the grand dare
with open arms
the brilliant blindness of youth
and, in blindness, in brilliance
I am swallowed
reassumed
and reborn I rise
my feathers shake off molten wax
my talons let fall useless straps
pushed up on the power of my newfound wings
one last look
and the Sun, smaller now
recedes behind me
into the night
Picture #1 is airbrush acrylic on bristol, 15"x23", #2 is acrylic over oil marbling (spray pant) on masonite, 14"x28"
(1993)
