new wings and a prayer

Wassily Kandinsky

I'm in the market for a new pair of wings. As much as am attached to the pair I own, it seems like I have to flap them more often to reach a point of take off.

They are comfortably worn lovely wings which have developed a multi-hued sheen .....if I look closely at them I can see paper thin layers of reflections, which peeled back carefully tell my story and of the others who have added to the sheen. If you look very closely, you can see the tiny nicks and tatters where enlightenment shines, but perhaps thats also where the air filters through slowing me down, forcing me to use too much energy.

My wings are my legacy, my individual unique fingerprint fabricated from taking part in life. They started off as tiny gossamer transparent wings fed and nurtured by my parents' unconditional love, by my grandmother who taught me how to explore the nooks and crannies of our neighbourhood by seeking the backroads less travelled. My wings stretched and grew as I did. The transparency began filling in with gorgeous rainbow colours, flashes of sparkle interspersed with earthy foundations.

They started off strong, and continued to develop strength with every connection I made with the outside world. Friends, sisters, aunts, uncles, grandparents, teachers, mentors, lovers, kindreds wove threads of strength into the character of my very own wings as I grew and they grew from childhood to adolescence to adulthood to becoming an adult.

With every life experience magical dust fell onto them.........some which weighed me down, and some which helped me to fly. They have been everywhere with me, carrying me across adventurous fields I sometimes didn't even know existed, in all kinds of weather. Miles and miles of fluttery fields captured in memories, captured in the layers and the sheen.

Wow! LOOK at them! I LOVE their colour; weathered blends of ripe open eyed living, of joy and grief and happiness and pain and wonder. Ah! the WONDER! Look at the nicks and tatters......where enlightenment meets grace. ... where the gusts between breaths harbour. Are the nicks and tatters the chapter headings of my learning?


New wings.........??? I dunno.

• Where does one buy new wings? e-bay?
• Should I test fly a few or should I be damn sure I know exactly what I want?
• Do they come with training wheels?
• Do they come with instructions?
• What if I purchase them and find out a little while from now that my new wings and I clash? What then? Can I return them?
• Do I really need a brand new pair of wings? How environmentally friendly is that?

I can't be tossing out a perfectly good set of wings that I have taken a lifetime to buff. Where's my head............lost in the clouds??

Perhaps it's not the wings............perhaps its the need to approach the wind currents from a different angle so that the air flows through the nicks more effectively. Perhaps my wings just need a bit of crazy glue along the edges to help direct them across new fields, and a little bit of dusting from those around me to help along the way.

That's all I need.............that and a prayer..........oh, and could I possibly have a wink from the Cosmos?

For more creative wings, check out Sunday Scribblings..........
ps. Laini, my warmest wishes and congratulations on the publication of your book. May it soar across a painted sky.