The Middleton

This is a throw back....posted 3 years ago on an old blog I had. I was really feeling it yesterday. Enjoy.


Sunday, April 08, 2007

Learning to Fly
Category: Writing and Poetry
Last year I posted a bitter poem called "To Fly. . ." about the utter hopelessness I, at one time in my life, dealt with perpetually.
This weekend I was inspired to write a poetic response. In order to get the full weight of it, you have to read the first one first, but I'll save you the trouble of looking for it. The morbid irony of it can be a wee bit chilling, but the second one more than makes up in joy what he first serves up in anguish.

To Fly. . .

A smile on my face, but tears in my eyes
They all hear the laughter, but not the silent cries
Is it a smile of strength, or a smile of lies?
Will my troubled soul rest before all hope dies?


Tired of body and weary of mind
Perpetually lost, my soul cannot find
A place of solace from this constant bind
Killed for having sight but choosing to be blind


A debt of love that can never be paid
To a friend who lovingly came to my aid
Offering me a crown that will never fade
I don't know why on this course I've stayed


A course that curses me, condemned to die
I can't give it up, and I don't know why
Now I'm forcing smiles and hiding cries
Because my soul has wings, but never learned to fly


Learning to Fly

Gone are the days of darkness and death
No more searching for meaning in each breath
I've been released from the cage I was in
I'm freed from continual bondage to sin

I begged God I might die, so sure I'd be free
But thanks be to God He didn't listen to me
I asked Him to remove this heavy load
So I could walk with more ease down life's road

He said: "I know you want me to answer your cry,
"But son, those are wings! You were created to fly!"
Then, in the hard times, when the winds became rough
I sought Him for shelter, but it wasn't enough

He said: "Lift up your head and open your eyes,
"Spread out your wings, and take to the skies."
Timidly I spread them, fearing for my life
Convinced I would die in the windy turmoil and strife

And then the wind caught me up into the air
It was just me and God, and two wings, and one prayer
I started out shaking, not sure what to do
But the higher I soared, the more my faith grew

And when I was lifted over the storm below me
My heart then knew inside what my eyes had not seen
So when the storms come, I now take to the sky
Because my soul has wings, AND I KNOW how to fly.