Poetry

Flying
​by Kathryn Goldman
​I become weightless.
My mattress a springboard.
Sunset orange air carries me over the day
And into powerful flight.

This started as a teenager,
sailing into certainty and self-assurance.
Finding my grown-up voice.
Feeling my future.

Leaving below
mean, popular girls,
confusing adolescent boys,
and a struggling-to-emerge self-image.

As an adult,
I peel off self-consciousness and soar.
Clothes are not required.
I am never hot, cold,
or wrong.

I power over complexity with grace.
I glide on the quiet air of solutions.
My sky is uncluttered by territorial rants
from bullies addicted to being right,
listening only to judge.

Demons that blind me with their daylight brilliance
are insignificant glimmers,
hoping to capture my attention.
I swat them away and they fall to earth.

Fearlessness reigns in my aerial Queendom.
Using imagination to navigate the labyrinth of my day,
imagining becomes reality.
Defying insurmountable dramas,
I leap from yesterday’s memories to tomorrow.

With new perspective, I return.
Tucking my wings of freedom away from prying eyes,
I settle down from my flight of emancipation,
Holding my newly uncovered realities.
About Kathryn Goldman
click to read Bio
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​A native of San Francisco, Kathryn Goldman’s interest in poetry began when she was working in ICU as a registered nurse. She used this practice to process the variety of stressful scenarios experienced. Over the years, she has continued to experiment with different types of writing such as short stories and plays. As an avid traveler, Kathryn has become skilled at capturing photographs about the diversity she encounters. Three years ago, she began to combine her love of photography with her writing by using the images she captures as seeds for her poems. She continues to explore new ways to use these two art forms to share her experience with family and friends.
Other works in this issue by Kathryn: 
​Dreamweaver (Poetry)
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​The Vistas & Byways Review is the semiannual journal of fiction, nonfiction, poetry and visual arts by members of OLLI at SF State.
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​The Osher Lifelong Learning Institute at San Francisco State University​ provides material support to the Vistas & Byways volunteer staff.