Jumping Up First
Marin, 2008

I sit on the edge of the Marin Headlands
earth dropping
thousands of feet to a rocky Pacific
Ravens land and scream at my back
feet away
My body twitches in surprise
sandwiched between the sound grin of black feathers
and a rocky fall

Falling silent
the raven walks over to the edge and looks at me
Our eyes lock
Lock in a manner
That I didn’t know a bird was capable of holding.

She looks away, over the ocean

Jumps up into the air
She hangs in the air for a moment
No longer on land
but not flying nor making any attempt to fly
She lands.  Looks at me.

Jumps up again, as if showing off or demonstrating.
I watch as she leaps again
this time pushing her body forward
off the cliff
Air catches her and she lifts
Gliding slowly downwards
Toward the water

Her wings don’t move
She’s not working, yet flying
My journey in these months is that upwards jump
I get that
For months
I practice jumping up.
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