Search This Blog

Wednesday 20 July 2016

Kite

Kite

Holding on against the tug, the pull of line,
face in shadow, back against the sun,
never daunted by tumbling thermals
but using the physics of lift and drag,
surfaces tensioned, taut
exploiting atmospheric pressure,
elemental feel and flow of forces
to climb, heavier than the air
to defy the very force of gravity
up to exhilarating height

Distant now, but still in sight,
scudding rough across the sky,
silken fabric facets flashing,
straining bamboo frame, pigtail waving,
soaring, swooping dizzying ascent,
looping , lifting, lurching,
aerial aerobic ballet, angled acrobatic flight of fancy,
unruly child who stretches and strains,
tests my strength and patience,
cannot be steered, merely guided

Its own brute force not yet marshalled,
high aloft upon the careering wind,
yanking on the leash that holds it back,
restrained and tethered by the umbilical of thinnest cord,
yet anchored to the ground,
connecting Earth and Space
with its head up in the clouds,
but my feet firmly planted on the ground


Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2016

No comments: