Life from a Swing

It begins with stillness,
then labor.
Kicking hard, pumping legs, pumping
exerting to produce only a small, rocking motion.
The air is hot, until a breeze from Heaven
begins to slowly sweep across my face and
lift my hair.
Now I rise and fall in steady rhythm.
UP one, DOWN one, UP, DOWN!
The rays of the sun filter down and reach,
reach toward me.
I float into one and rise higher, higher.
High... Bliss... Sky... Blue... Sun... Ecstasy...
Then my stomach plummets and I...
FALLLLLL.
Fear and thrill take me and I grip,
grip the cold chains with white knuckles.
Then WHOOOSSSHHH BLURRR
I rise again into the blue.
Joy.
Freedom.
Only breathing.
Living.
Being.
The peak, the summit, joy of life in a moment,
then the denouement.
Slower, lower,
return to gentle rocking.
My feet touch the hard, unrelenting ground
and I walk away, dizzy...
Remembering only the infinite moment
of soaring into the sun.