To Fly Poem by Glen Kappy

from 'Dreams and Visions'

To fly!
To stand at ledge of life and leap—
NOT to thinnest air—
but to the arms of God—
to cast off restraint and soar! —
over trees and meadows
and urban landscapes too—
for they also can be beautiful from this view.

No shell about me—propellers in its wings—
nor parachute nor any prosthesis at all—
for this is about trust—
giving beggars what they ask for
without taking stock
of paper, coin, or what we might go without—
bank accounts, assets, inheritances—
everything that insulates
from the nerve-tingling rush of life.

It's about living unencumbered
NOT believing we have to be shrewd, suspicious, tight-fisted
vigilant for those who want to rip us off
NOT believing we HAVE to wear shoes (steel-toed to be ideal)
lest the goatheads and broken glass of life do damage to our feet.

It's about tasting life ravenous to experience and learn
about intoxication and contagion
as the sacred pipe of LIFE is passed in solemn circle
and we recover what it means to LIVE.

It's NOT about ego—
for everybody knows
we cannot defy gravity on our own.
It has to be a gift—from God alone.
And I think God's given it already.
It's there to take.
If we want it.