Remembering A Beginning Poem by RIC BASTASA

at first we need the push
and when we fall we curse and blame and even take time for revenge
this happens many many times
and then we run out of feelings, we want to rest, and take some deep breaths
there is a broken window of the house which admits light
there is a leak somewhere
and our curiosities have become geometric in shapes and movements
we are no longer pushed yet we volunteer to fall only to learn
the magic of flying
there is a link then between force and a kick and a fall and a necessity
to save oneself from dying
it is a realization of wings and wind and how the two
must go together to find the right direction
we remember the push and the pain and then we somehow
like all of them now
the first time, we undertake thanksgiving.
The beginning of grace, the first taste of freedom.