Terminal Velocity

I stand on a bridge
Crossing canyon depths
With home
On neither side.

I am a wayfarer
A stranger and straggler
With no hurry-up
In my gitty-up.

Below, winds swirl
Rising thermals
Carry river and carrion scents
Colliding with cool air, higher.

It rains on me
Clinging my shirt to my chest
And hope to my heart
That I too, may fall clean.

Arms to my sides
I accept the plummet
Wind rushing
Past my ears.

And I fly.
I soar past ancient walls
Petra glyphs flash by
Telling of long-ago flyers.

My lungs gather air
Forcing it from my lips
Finding melody
In terminal velocity.

And finally
Beyond the end
There is sky higher
Than imagined.

Further than the rocky ledge
Deeper than the stony floor
There is a new sky
Unending and blue.