Shadow Kite

By Zachary Murdock

you stubborn beauty

through all these years

you just keep showing up

what’s your secret?

if i didn’t know better

i’d think you were dumb

just an animal

attracted to scent

but there’s something holy

about your gravitational pull

more than just instinct

a conscious choice

not that animals aren’t intelligent of course

beg pardon creature friends

i guess what i’m trying to say is

a ritual, that’s what you have

& i’m a little jealous to be honest

inspired… we humans are so finicky

always reacting to the slightest unknown

moods dominating our inner skies

& then our kites gather bitter dust

& our wrists that used to draw rainbows with crayons

can become razor warzones

but not you

you’re out here everyday

kite tattered or new

sky wild or serene

crayons worn down to the nub

even the brown one

waltzing with the thunder beings

dancing with the sun

& here i come, lumbering along

doing my best to be like you

consistent but never the same

sheesh! it’s not easy to be so alive

it’s like there’s glue in my bones

& anchors on my heart

i have to keep overriding my natural inclinations

to fall into an echo trap

cause a ritual is just a container

you taught me that

i learned by watching you

you ain’t no robot beast

no happy fool

you dance in the minefield

all the emotions flickering in your eyes

knowing that you could explode at any second

not playing to win

playing to play

never saying a word

until today,

when you read me this poem…

© 2024 Santa Barbara Literary Journal