Stand at the very edge.
Stand at the edge and
look.
Stand at the very edge and
look down –
down at the whole world spread out beneath,
shimmering in a mirage of possibility.
Stand there,
flexing your wing –
delicately.
Paper-thin wing,
stretching, and flexing.
Open up your wings as far as they will go –
and back again.
Today
is not the day.
No.
You will go.
Not
today though.
Today is for flexing your wings,
stretching your wings,
opening your wings,
and looking down.
______________
Rachel Carney is a poet and PhD student based in Cardiff. Her poems, reviews and articles have been published in several magazines including the New Welsh Review, Poetry Salzburg Review, Ink Sweat and Tears and Wales Arts Review. She has had two poems shortlisted for the Bridport Prize.