Though My Heart Quiver

The spine of the mountains is clear against the sky

I shall sail in my vessel but I shall not ride too high

Should the needles fall to zero beneath the midday sun

Into the embrace of mother earth shall I make my final run

The wind can lift me safely if she favours me today

And upon the palm of her hand I slowly meander my way

May the mists rise to show me the valleys below

And draw me away from the cols fraught with turbulent flow

There are days when I feel like the sky is surely mine

Skirting at treetops in a wingdance as the river winds

The beauty of God's tapestries in greenstretch beneath my feet

My hat be nimbus, the cirrus, cumulus and stratus sheets

I see the Brahminy sweep along my shoulder in pairs

The swallows and swifts ignore me as if I weren't there

I thank the heavens for the graciousness of CAVOK
Till the skids kiss the grass let good weather hold its sway

Each time I fly my life is a supplicant offering

As I look down  at the mountains like ceaseless carnivorous rings

Will that tropical rain forest be my bridge to the the life hereafter

Or will I be consumed by ebony clouds that cloak the way yonder

What can we seek refuge in, be they the written or unforeseen

When all knowledge is overshadowed by the frailty of being

My only way back is the pavement of many whispered prayers

As the rotorbeat pulls me homeward bound through the air

Where does my mind run to when the sun has hidden his face

Back to my dear woman and the lovely ones she has raised

Though my heart quiver my hand steadies the cyclic stick

Raise the collective and ease forward and clear that rugged peak

Now the backbone of the mountains gazes at me from on high

There is no whisper of a storm lurking in the bright open sky

To my Shepherd I commend the means by which I make my bread

And through each quiver of my heart, He shall steady my way