Flying Lessons (WC)

(Wendy Cabell, published in Writers At Play Presents: Our Legacy, edited by Daisy Barrett-Nash, Equal Arts, 2022. From September 8, 2021, feast day of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and also of the Kursk-Root Icon of the Mother of God (and other Icons). Also the second day of Rosh Hashanah, the "head of the year" (first day here); as well as commemorating the (3760 BC) first very Shabbat on the seventh day of creation. Image from here.)

Flying Lessons

Above all, clothe yourselves with love,

which binds everything together in perfect harmony...

and with gratitude in your hearts sing psalms,

hymns, and spiritual songs to God.

-from Colossians 3: 14,16

 

The Wing’s the thing: the unspoken 

mantra of my Mother. Though spoken too.

“Okay, Baby Angels, we need a mini-miracle.”

Survival 101.

“Let your Guardian Angel

talk to his Guardian Angel.”

Conflict resolution.

“If you ever see a frown,

do not let it stay.” Or rather,

“If after wings, 

your blessings sing.” 

Cognitive therapy,

as to this restless

soul a feather's brush. Her hand 

on my forehead. Slow dawn 

of soft smile,

knowing,

“Angels can fly because they take themselves

lightly.” Aka transcendence (meanwhile naming 

daughter after Disney,

“You can fly!

You can fly!

You can fly!

There it is, Wendy,

second star to the right

and straight on

'till morning!"

But digressing.) 

And remembering, 

night not so long ago, on bed resting,

legs cycling in air. Phone nestled by ear. True

confessions. Mom’s climb out of depression just

noticing the littlest of things. Magic's glow

tween “thank” and “you", got her through. 

“So now I’m telling you,” 

floats her voice,

"If after wings,

your blessings sing.

The Wing's the thing."

               

*”If you ever see a frown…” is paraphrased from Daniel Taylor’s Smiles .“Angels can fly because…” is quoted from G.K. Chesterson’s Orthodoxy. “You can fly!...” is quoted from Walt Disney’s Peter Pan.

**From prompt: Ponder the life lesson(s) that have meant the most to you. Freewrite about the setting where learned them, the person learned them through and his/her characteristics, the way the lesson(s) were imparted, the impact the lesson(s) have had upon you. Underline striking lines, bring in more sensory detail, and notice if a theme word or line emerges to repeat. Weave in a couple lines further zeroing in on the (or a) "moment" this lesson came through, perhaps using syesthesia. Then craft the above into a poem. From Daisy Barrett-Nash’s Legacy Poetry, July 28, August 4, and September 1, 2021; revisited and revised September 8, 2021 class.