Like deeply planted oaks, the women once dwelled together in peace,
Their feet covered with nourishing soil and arms outstretched,
Branches of flesh to connect with the living air.
Like laughing leaves swooping in the sky,
The women once jubilantly soared as one
Above the skin of the Earth.
As a young child, I dreamt that if I stood very straight,
Tensed all my muscles and closed my eyes,
I would slowly rise into the air a few inches,
Propel myself with my arms wherever I wished to go,
Then land again as gently as a rose petal on the wind.
But the only time I tried to ascend even a breath’s measure,
I failed, landbound, unsure and giftless.
Imagine my delight when I discovered that witches once
Rode on brooms to song and dance-filled forest jamborees,
Inanna soared like a condor over Sumer spotting evildoers and restoring justice,
Holy Cailleachs metamorphosed into fierce and noisy owls
Peering through the night’s blackness to see truth below.
Goddesses and spirit beings from all over the globe
Crowded the clouds with no thought of gravity’s imprisonment.
These sacred beings were not escaping our planet’s surface,
Seeking purity and glory in a heavenly realm
Beyond sinful chaos on the ground.
They knew that life on Earth is honeysweet magic and that
Stone cold cellular walls dividing us
From winged beings are gossamer illusion.
I have heard that many women as children
Believed the sky was their birthright.
Maybe we all kept our conviction silent
For fear of remembering when nothing held us down.
But I think our ancestors willingly sacrificed their wings
Aware that the times ahead would be hard and
For now we must lay down on Earth’s breast
To be infused with Her strength and love
So that we can do all that we must do.
Still, we forgot that we can fly without our feet leaving
Earth’s rich, fertile, fragrant soil.
We have power in our minds and souls to take wing above
Our small patch of space and time,
To see the world and eternity
As a wholeness of fragility, beauty, and faith.
To exuberantly dance into being lives worth living
Standing together on this ambrosial, tender Earth.
Originally published in Return to Mago, July 9, 2021
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Beautiful. Thank you. Recently I’ve been watching the gulls and the eagles more intently, staring in wonderment at how wonderful it must be to soar on their own power as they do. Your poem captures that feeling beautifully.
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Thank you, Beth! When I first had that experience on which the poem is based some years ago hawks and eagles were rare in our neighborhood. Now they are quite prevalent, and I even saw a bald eagle circling my house a few weeks ago. I don’t know what rebalance/imbalance has caused the change, but I also feel that sense of freedom as I watch them fly, also being amazed that with their vision they can see much farther than I can.
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Thank you so much for this beautiful poem! I still have strong visceral memories of flying in my dreams. Your images of women flying are wonderful and inspiring.
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Thank you, Annelinde! One reason I wrote the poem was because I had heard that a lot of women have this same dream of flying. I’m so glad you enjoyed the images!
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Thank you, this is a beautiful poem.
For years and years I had dreams of flying. I could sometimes just lift off of the ground in my dream. Very occasionally I flew over someplace in my dream where I later was in waking life. I have wondered what happened to my dreams of flying, why no more?
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Thank you for your kind words! That’s so interesting that your dreams went away after having them as a child as that was exactly my experience. It is especially fascinating that you flew over places that you later went to in real life. Thank you so much for sharing your experiences!
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Actually, I had them for years as an adult, as well. I am in my late 60s and am not sure when they stopped. My 40s, my 50s?
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That’s really fascinating! Definitely something to think about as to why we had them and why they stopped.
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Yes! A vibrant, power-full knowing you have painted HERe, Carolyn. Your which words, I reprint below, serve to transport and ground in the crucible of Wisdom:
Still, we forgot that we can fly without our feet leaving
Earth’s rich, fertile, fragrant soil.
We have power in our minds and souls to take wing above
Our small patch of space and time…
Sawbonna,
Margot/Raven Speaks.
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Thank you so much, Margot/Raven Speaks. I so appreciate your kind words!
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