Flying Lessons

The door slides open
to an azure world.
Loose strands of fear
hang from my jump suit.

A rush of empty space
and drop in pressure
blast my thoughts
right open.

Teetering on the edge between
new birth and death,
once sure I could only jump
in tandem,

I glance timidly, surreptitiously
at the pilot.
His slow smile says
Close your eyes and leap.

Several seconds later,
I am floating, not falling,
my eyes open to the miracle
of all I can see.

That’s when I shrug off my harness
which plummets to the earth
like the crutches of the healed,
and for the first time, I believe.

Dear sweet Jesus, Mother Mary,
so it is like the story goes.
What a surprise that in the end
we all have the power
to defy gravity.

Lisa E. Paige
Copyrighted material
December 2008