Beautiful Flight Poem by Sophia White

(Sophia's first poem,2002)

I sat and gazed at the ever blue sky
At the sparrows and robins wheeling around
At the lazy clouds drifting in silence
Wishing I was not stuck on the ground.

A lion prowled over the clear blue sky
Stalking the stag that pranced nearby.
And a fish swam as in watery depths
And my heart sand, If only I could fly!

To fly like an eagle, golden and strong
To fly like a butterfly, beautiful and bright.
To fly like a cloud, with nary a care.
Oh, wouldn’t it be such a glorious flight!

The surf of the seashore rose and fell
The wind whistled past brushing away fears
When a faint purr like that of a kitten
Came drifting gently to my listening ears.

Up I did leap and away I did go
To find what did make such an odd sound.
And I mounted a dune and blinked once or twice
For what I saw made my head spin ‘round!

A monstrous contraption of cloth and of wood
Sailed o’er the sand like a ship of old.
Faster and faster upon a small rail
And went up! Wondrous sight to behold!

It flew like an eagle, golden and strong,
It flew like a butterfly, beautiful and bright.
It flew like a cloud, with nary a care,
Oh! Wasn’t it such a beautiful flight!

The men on the ground cheered and clapped.
They had succeeded where all others had failed.
And the ship of the air with grace unsurpassed
Just flew! Yes, I tell you – it sailed!

I never forgot the ship that I saw
As I stood on those windy sands.
Finally Man had broken his bounds
And left behind the trappings of land.

There on that island, small Kitty Hawk,
The triumph of triumphs took flight,
And though I watched from the ground
My heart sailed with that sky ship of white!