POEM: Where birds take flight, I want to go, too.

The place where earth and sky intersect is where I want to be.

Photo by thebugadi ㅤ on Unsplash

Hello Substack friends. For those of you who have been following my work for some time, I am grateful you stuck with me, and for those of you who are new to my creative space, I am happy you’re here. Welcome!

For the month of July—a slower month in the heart of summer—I wanted to share a selection of poems I’ve written off the cuff, usually while parked in the school parking lot or sitting in waiting rooms at medical facilities.

I wrote this poem while sitting in a dark and near-empty sanctuary one weekday afternoon. The silence and stillness became fertile soil upon which this poem was birthed. It speaks about my love of birds and why they always draw me into their world, how the skies remind me of all that’s yet to be claimed in my life, or lived, or learned.

I’d be delighted to hear from you about a time when you created something in an unexpected way or time or space—maybe it was a piece of writing, like mine, or maybe it was another art form. And how does silence transform the power of your creative expression?

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Whenever I catch sight of a red-tailed hawk or a cluster of crows, maybe a pair of mourning doves or a flock of dark-eyed juncos—and, on the rare occasion, a bald eagle—I pay attention, because looking

upward,

skyward,

heavenward

keeps me grounded and sane somehow

And where birds and all winged creatures take flight,

I want to go, too—

the place where earth and sky intersect and beckon me to linger

with my feet planted on soil

and my arms outstretched,

like feathered things welcoming

everything and nothing—

palms open and empty,

ready to receive.

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