One Cu-Filled Summer Afternoon...
by Jim Wyman
While thermalling off the western ridge, a red-tailed hawk joined me.
As we briefly shared the thermal, I sensed a contemptuous tolerance
on the part of the hawk. For weeks after, I contemplated my place in
the summer sky. It was an internal, philosophical debate and one
which never let me rest. "If God intended man to fly, He would have
given him wings." Well, the FAA comes close to being God, but I am
sure the hawk would have been unimpressed had I flashed him my
license.
I knew I would never be completely comfortable soaring
until that question was resolved. It was weeks later that the answer
came to me in the form of a poem.
I would like to share this with/anyone who doubts their place
in the summer sun...
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................That Hawk and I.................
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Five thousand feet in the summer sky
We shared the thermal.
One turn..................................two turns
Synchronized grace.
One wing down.....................................
................................The other in space.
The hawk then glared............................
...........................At my fiberglass wings,
Asking..................................................
.................................Why are you here,
With that foreign thing?..........................
The reflective face on the canopy smiled,
And replied...........................................
.............................Our Mother, the earth
Has severed the cord.............................
..........................And our Father, the sun
Allows us to soar.
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