Sheri Wright

She Rides The Clouds Bareback

How else can she feel
the roll and sweep of herself
set loose from gruff chatter and
sidesaddles and wedding bands
cluttering, buzzing the air like gnats
that compel her to reach into silence
where currents would have her
become the flow of her own veins.

               *

One last stunt-
first to fly around the world-
and she can retire from proving herself,
and to herself over and over
that size doesn�t matter in the cockpit
when a woman�s small hands
can guide a ten ton tin-whistle
anywhere she wants.

And there are no more records to break.
She has done them all,
crossed both oceans alone
with her frailness, the constant nausea,
fatigue, headaches, despising any
hand to help a lady cross the street.
She was one of those
who kicked off the training wheels
before learning to ride,
knew her curls would cushion her head
if she were to fall.

One island, one mile long to land on
in the middle of the sea,
miss-mapped by five miles
is like picking the north star from the sky
with your eyes closed.
An un-agreed on frequency to call for help
       details, details.
What about Morse code?
        More clutter to fill my head.
A parachute, just in case?
And break the spell? Do you know
I had to drive with my eyes closed-
though no one knew it-
just to show I understood the concept
of forward motion and could reach the pedals,
shift and steer and breath all at the same time?

               *

Her navigator guides drink after drink
in for a perfect landing
on emptiness, unchartable,
where no rescuer can find
even a scrap of debris floating,
only wave after wave-
the sea licking its lips.

               *

How else can she know
that even when clouds lose their shapes
and fall into the sea
as drops of rain,
she will always gather
back into the sky
pulled up by stars.

— Sheri Wright, originally published in Earth’s Daughter’s #74

Look for this poem in Sheri’s forthcoming Finishing Line chapbook, The Courtship of Reason.

Sheri is the author of Nuns Shooting Guns and Sharks Never Sleep, both from Flood Crest Press. In addition to The Courtship of Reason, she will have another book out soon titled Contains Scenes of Indigenous Nudity.

Possibly related posts:

Sheri L. Wright

Donne on Sunday

Friday morning musing

Cats and Goblins

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