Security

Starting the writing novena again....

Perched on my stool, safely through security,
I watch people stream, wheel and turn
in front of me. Some children, a school trip perhaps,
travel in a line, like migrating geese. Some travel in small,
whirling flocks, sparrows crossing the concourse,
pecking at vending machines, feeding in airport shops.
Some stroll in pairs, hands clasped,
swans mated for life. A gate change is announced,
and passengers rise, a flock of starlings, fleeing
from one tree to another before resting again.
Out past the the security gates I see two
people, they can only be reunited lovers,
fly to each other and embrace, the way
two eagles will join in flight and tumble towards
earth in ecstasy as they join in the sky,
risking death to create new life.
In front of the cold, gleaming,
deli case, a lone traveler eyes the prepackaged salads,
motionless, like a heron standing still
in a pond, waiting to strike. 

Do we have the same ancient homing
instincts as birds? We plan for years, drill
for fuel, move earth, pour concrete,
pave fields, and light the night
to travel the heavens in
the same way a hummingbird,
without prior thought or intention.
and fueled only by the promise of flowers,
flies. Maybe we are just birds, cursed aeons
ago. Birds whose bones have grown dense,
whose feathers fell, whose beaks
softened and withered. Maybe that is why
we try so hard to reclaim the sky.