Pilgrims Of The Sky

Pilgrims Of The Sky
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I soak in the afterglow of the setting sun
Standing alone on the wave-lashed islands
above the darkening hulks of the rugged cliffs
Flashing by are thousands of silhouettes
In lavish display, an explosion of infinite hues
A blur of birds flying seawards
Muffins turning inwards, veering out over the water again
In chaotic hypnotic motion
Take me with you, pilgrims of the sky
Let me fly on your wings

I spy through the foliage and the quietness of a wetland paradise
A brilliant line appears on the horizon
A thousand cranes graze gleaming like candles in the sun
They dance and duet shattering the calm of a sunlit marsh
They have journeyed far from the Siberian heights
to the warm climes of the Bharatpur lakes
Sensing the subtle silence of magnetic fields
Guided by the sun and the stars and the smells of home
Take me with you, pilgrims of the sky
Let me fly on your wings.

I tiptoe along the rainforest paths where the mighty Amazon flows
A frenzy of feathers churns up dust
A rowdy crowd of exhibitionist macaws
Splatter their brilliance on a clay riverbank
A divine palette of vermillion, yellow, green and blue
In a burst of fireworks, the birds lift off
to the rainforest canopy, dancing flowers open in the sky
I peer into the deep darkness of time to see
the unfolding alchemy and hear the orchestra of evolution
Tuned to the rhythms and drumbeats of my heart
Take me with you, pilgrims of the sky
Let me fly on your wings

A soaring convention of eagles gather
Gliding silently on afternoon thermals, floating free
The gray owl hoots and glides into the approaching dusk
Monarch butterflies close their divine wings as the day is done
Then the night flowers bloom and fireflies begin to wink
The Doppler echoes of gargoyle bats ricochets in the soft blur of starlight
their single shadow imprinted on the moon
Take me with you, pilgrims of the sky
Let me fly on your wings

I am but an earthbound penguin
Out on a swaggering Chaplinesque walk
I was never made as you, on the wings of the wind to fly
To float on the zephyr and look down from the sky
I want to dance on the thermals, move like the wind without fear
Soar, summersault and dive at will
Make me your echo, your magnetic trail, your sunrays, moonbeams
And the wind beneath your wings
Let me touch your power, strength and beauty in humility
Take me with you, pilgrims of the sky
Let me fly on your wings