gems of the sky

At times in my life when I have been in emotional pain, felt extreme longing and emptiness or just alone, I write poetry (at least that is what I call it). I don't seem to be able to tap into my poetic self when I am happy, not suffering, bubbling over with joy. I kind of don't get it, but I kind of do. It's been a long time since I've been in touch with the poet...here is one I wrote while looking out the window of an airplane flying from Yakima to Seattle on September 3rd, 2003.

hazy skies,
orange ball of fire rolling down the screen of forever
hills barren and brown
i cannot see for miles.
where have the trees gone, the land so void of life
reaching like fingers toward the sea, clawing for life
my breath catches in my chest
i wonder where i am, what lies beneath,
beyond my view from up high.
the outlines of mountains beyond the hazy skies
where air is clean and i might breathe again
what made man want to fly? we are always dreaming, seeking up
did my people come this far, did they dream of flying
when they walked barefoot across the land?
or did they fly in their dreams to the places
we wish we could go?
the mountain top calls me, like a welcoming seat,
a place to rest, to find quiet, silence.
what can you hear from on top of the world?
i imagine the silence, deafening
a warm feeling rushes down my legs as we descend
my feet knowing soon they will have to return to the ground?
what did we do before this?
where were my thoughts? was my mind silent or just full of something else?
I wish you could answer all my questions, let your legs dangle in the space of my mind
for an evening, kicking the thoughts up as they come,
inviting more, like opening up a shell to find what treasure it might hold
a pearl of wisdom
a diamond of emotion
a ruby of passion
a sapphire of pain
the water reflects the light from the moon
islands everywhere
could the water stop the fiery ball from shining?
we land, quite aware we cannot fly in our dreams.