Poem at Altitude

Whatever you take with you into ascent,

whatever you bring with your body

into the half air, the world above this one,

whatever you carry, whatever is

the design of your needs, take these

words which weigh nothing.

Can’t be forbidden, won’t be

detected, confiscated, stripped

from you in the naked light

of security, which in the end is a lie.

Whatever is left behind, missed

when it’s too late, in motion,

going and gone and up and away,

whatever you shed with speed,

keep with you this knotted

up bundle, made of air, these words

which fall out of the world

like the sun.