what i learned

i wrote a poem one day

about how i felt 

overwhelmed

how the world was closing in 

around me

and the ground was hot against my 

bleeding palms and knees

and all i wanted to see was the sky.

and i repeated to myself in the lines of the poem

i'm still on the ground

but i'm learning to fly.

it gave me strength.

i was renewed.

i went back the next day and 

i struggled

i learned to change my mind

i wrote another poem 

and still i said

i'm still on the ground

but i'm learning to fly.

my situation changed

and i learned that

words are permanent images

of an instant frozen in time

but the desires they capture are timeless

and i still yearn for the sky.