[return to Contents Page]

Beverly Tift

Escape Velocity

After the rain, I leap over wider and wider puddles with my feet gliding above the water, landing each time Olympic-style with arms flung out. More jumping—up and down steps, one or two at a time, then three, four . . . soon, I am swooping up and down steep staircases. “It’s a bird? A plane? It’s Super Girl!”

sidewalk cracks
each skate key twist
closes the gap

Under the dark of the moon, I glide tree-top to tree-top, pushing off high branches again and again. Then, with a wild heart, I fly up into the sky greeting dawn with waxed wings and blinded eyes.

Now, I double-check my seatbelt, close my eyes, and doze into another business trip.

solar eclipse
a glimpse
of old dreams