Linda Marie Van Tassell (Lynchburg, Virginia)

A cloud is free and so flies away
as a white sail upon the ocean,
bright with the light of a sunny ray
with its gossamer wings in motion.

It is like a kiss blown to the wind
between two lovers that must depart
or the quiet presence of a friend
whose smile brings happiness to your heart.

It is like a veil that drifts afloat
the sky-swirled face of a blushing bride
whose kisses rain from her azure throat
to Smith Mountain Lake and ocean tide.

It glides along a wingspan of light
like the pen of a dreaming poet
whose shower of smiles imbibes delight
when the world cries but does not know it.

A metamorphosing sight unfurled -
a sea-washed spirit when wild winds blow -
it transmigrates the top of the world –
a freelance flyer with miles to go.

A dove on the shoulder of the sky,
she folds the world beneath peaceful wing
as church bells echo and street lamps sigh
invoking a song of gathering.

I smile to myself at thought and scene.
Afternoon tea is a sweet bouquet.
As I wait for spring and shades of green,
a cloud is free and so flies away.