clouds descend each night
fill valleys with blankets of white
you can feel their weight in the mornings
and their warmth as they burn away

the shades of the sea mirror the winds
I've rarely seen anything but grey

but the once and future blue
still calls out to me

and I dream

to stand alone against the tide

to read my path along the stars

to weave a path between jagged peaks

to reach the calm of a storm's great heart

to dance with reeds and willow trees

and to be truly
completely
unapologetically free

a child bearing wings

///

close your eyes

what do you hear?

does the forest still sing
does the wind still whistle
does the stream still whisper with you?

do you hear your best friend's laughter
do you hear your parents smiling
do you hear the sun dawning for you?

or has machinery rumbled around you
has lightning coursed through your fingers
has the grass forgotten your name?

it is time to return

to sing your name to the heavens

and to know that you will be finally heard