I will bow down
in order to take off,
I will dip into the slip stream,
I will rise swiftly, pulled up
by the climbing current

Each day, to do this, I will sacrifice:
I will give up my fear.
I will slip it off my neck, over my head,
I will lay it down. Thus unburdened,
I will be ready for the updraft,
when it comes. I will stretch my arms wide
to take it in, to revel in the sheer expansiveness
of flight

I will remember:
humility is light and pliant —
it is no pain to carry,
it is so much better
than all those splintered beams,
those sharp shards,
those things I used before
to try to build myself

I bow my head
to receive this blessing,
I serve this truth
in order to be free.

©Wendy Mulhern
July 5, 2016