Promises whispered in darkened rooms
Oaths that were made to be broken,
Wishes that faded before they took form,
and dreams left abandoned like a promise unspoken.
Wings were made only of wax and of feathers
spread wide--and lifting into the night,
soaring together in search of a treasure
then falling, and melting alone in the night.
A heart streaked with tears kneels and tends to its wounds,
scars long healed-over reveal the answer
standing breathless and wistful and shining to listen
in longing to far-distant echoes of laughter.
So raise your arms high, lift your face to the wind!
The world awaits, and new wings can be grown;
in the pale light of morning, rise, take to the skies,
and summon the strength to face sunset alone.
c. K.R.L. Kapphahn, 1997
