My first few flights since the time I fled,

I wasn’t quite sure why it hurt inside.

I was supposed to feel free

I was supposed to feel alive.

Weak kneed and wobbly eyed 

It became clear to me. 

I’d spent my whole life trying not to drown in that cage,

I’d never learned how to spread my wings and fly. 

Living inside my feather winged body, 

a foreign place to me. 

I started small, jumping off curbs. 

Spreading myself out to see if I could catch the wind. 

Little by little 

The jumps got taller. 

Sometimes I fell, 

But I had to get back up. 

And on a random Tuesday I looked down,

There was no more blood dripping down. 

And I’d been flying over the whole town.