The problem with sitting on a cloud

Is that it has a tendency to evaporate

Leaving you to tumble rather unceremoniously—

This indeed 

Is something one has to discover

For oneself

 

Perhaps the birds have known

Since the beginning of time—

Understanding how to enjoy the clouds

Without clinging onto them

For safety is surely admirable

 

Contemplation of bird behaviour

Leads me to conclude

That my grasping has long been

An unnecessary struggle

For it has only ever led me

To disappointment

 

I’ve been teaching myself how to fly

It’s not easy, as I do not possess wings—

The sparrows find it amusing

While the eagles simply look on

With disdain

 

But clouds are unreliable

And I have never had a love

For aeroplanes

I once heard it takes

10,000 hours of practice

To master any skill

 

Practice, they say

Makes perfect, and failure

While learning is better 

Than never trying

So, it’s onwards 

 

And upwards for me

Who knows!

Perhaps next year 

I will explore 

What I can do

Without a tail

Clare Kinnaird, 2025.