Running With the Wind

When I was very young,

I loved to run into the wind

And spread my arms to embrace it

Wanting to be caught up in its arms and thrown up

Into the air and be carried as in a parent’s arms

I wanted to catch hold of a cloud and swing there

Oh, how I loved t run.

As a girl, a little older,

I loved to run into the wind,

And spread my arms to enfold the wind

Wanting to catch it with outstretched arms

Arms held in just the right way to be supported by the wind

I wanted to dive into the sky and swim there

Oh, how I loved to run.

And as a young woman,

I would run rarely, aware of appearances,

Still, I spread my arms to capture the wind

In arms held in hopes of finding just the right angle

To hold a mountain of air in my arms,

I wanted to climb it, and be upheld there, in the sky.

Oh, how I loved to run

And now, an older woman,

I cannot run on legs unsteady walking

But I stand on stormy days with outstretched arms

Trying with aching arms to entreat the wind to fill them

To hold it in arms as a lover embraces a beloved.

I want it to carry me along, to travel to where it goes so fiercely.

Oh, how I would love to run with the wind once more

Nancy France