“rush”

by David J. Kennedy

The world hurried. I wanted to stay and talk — 

trace each minute that led you to this place. 

Peer through the foliage and into the 

valley where you became fluent in 

affliction. 

Devour your tales of yellow and blue;  the 

memories that arrive like indigo wrens  

at the window on late August nights  

when planes rumble, drunks stumble, 

and the reels of your mind play 

sepia scenes that drown emerald eyes. 

Cradle your wounded spirit; how she aches to 

stream northwards, far beyond red cliff tops — 

bound for stations where fairy tales are 

free and the rush of flying too close to 

heaven  

blunts the pain of the fall.

David J. Kennedy is a poet and non-fiction author from Sydney, Australia. Themes of aging, wonder, and mortality feature prominently in his writing, and he has work published or forthcoming in South Florida Poetry Journal, Words & Whispers, and Jupiter Review. Twitter: @DavidJKennedy_