Receiving

Beautiful transformed thing

Letting light pass through your wings

Does it pain you, to have worked so hard

but still move through this world

so vulnerably?

You find yourself in an unexpected place

Everything is foreign, from the smells

of detergent to shaved wood and plastic netting

You panic, you try to flee, but when you can’t escape, 

you freeze

A strange creature approaches

tries to slide an object under you

But you resist, a primal terror

flings you in circles,

crashes you up against the walls that enclose you

Your strength wanes with the passing of time

Somewhere amidst a dusty afternoon

You lost hope. 

Body breaking down, you no longer protest

When the strange creature again approaches

to carry you into the Mystery

You surrender to the shifting of gravity, 

too frail for defenses.

And in just that moment,

when at last you’ve released your clinging to your life,

the bright light rushes in and engulfs you

A fresh breeze invigorates your wings

Beckoning you awake! 

Dazed, trembling: You can still fly! 

Though your stride teeters off kilter

and your wings are weak from waiting,

you burst into the day

that was just waiting

for you to finally

let go and receive.