A friend of mine is getting married; I wrote this for her in order to get out of having to buy an expensive gift.


You must

You two must fly for all the ages

You mustn't simply try or take a stab or give it your fair shake

You must set your sights high and
run your race together and later
tell your young your glorious tales

You must never give up the course
because it is your course

You think of flight and you dream of
birds or planes or spirits or
of all the air above you now

You must however reach and think of more

You must also think in terms of time

You must recall the giants that flew
the skies before you that were
the masters of what you two must
now combine to do

You must lose your fetters and become
the sky

You seldom hear “fly like the dinosaurs” for it seems odd and out of place
yet among those stunning tenants of our world gone by flew kings
they slipped between the ground and God
they were neither bird
nor brute
nor monster
they were graceful gracious and gaunt
they were the biggest beings aloft
they owned their planet
as must you

You two must scale the stars and stay aloft

You must fill the air with
your desire
your portents
your surprise
your laughter and
your own blend of yourselves

You two together must take this charge

You must never give in
never give in
never