She hovered near the edge of the precipice
Gazing over the edge into the unknown
Shivering as the winds of change eddied and swirled in the space beyond
A deep longing in her heart that throbbed with an incessant rhythm of its own
Much like the rhythm of her heartbeat
Urged her to step over the edge
It called the swirling, mysterious abyss “freedom”
But it all seemed so terrifying
So, she stepped back
As she had done every day for years
Decades even
Into safety, security, routine
But also, into restlessness, anxiety, depression
And every day, though she may try to avoid its pull
She found herself back at that ledge
Staring into the beyond
Wondering if she could do it
If she could step over that edge and start to fly
But the others that lived in the world of safety, security, routine
They told her it was foolish
That almost nobody that stepped over the edge flew
That most of them fell
Plummeting down to join the heap of bleached white bones at the bottom
Dreams smashed against the rocks along the way
So, she stepped back
Again, and again
Until…
One day she came closer to the edge than ever before
She felt the pull of the wind around her like an embrace
She perceived the heaviness of the so-called safety behind her
And the buoyant lightness of the space before her
Suddenly staying seemed far more dangerous than stepping off
She backed up a few steps, and the others told her she was doing the right thing
Come back to them, come back to safety
You cannot leave us
Ignoring them, she ran straight ahead and leapt
Right off the precipice and into the unknown
Wings sprouted from her shoulders
They looked like delicate gossamer and lace
But they were strong and solid and carved through the wind
As if they had been waiting their entire life for this moment
Because they had been there all along
Ready, waiting, hoping she would believe
And when she finally did trust in them
She did not just fly
She soared

Original Poem by Dee A. Rowe
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