he Chinese kite drapes its
long, multi—colored tail
around a beam, tethered to
the ceiling in my apartment by a
thumbtack. It has never been
flown, this kite, but moves rest-
lessly in vagrant drafts creeping
under the door, tugging at its
string. I imagine it dreams of
open blue sky and Spring.
Now it is February and
I’m tugging too. I’m dreaming of
leaving the four blankets on the
bed, the layered clothing, heavy
boots behind. I’m totally con-
vinced Spring will never come
again. Surely the drifts outside
my window, towering over my
head where the plow has deposit-
ed them, are permanent. Green is
the color of my longing. Blue is
the sound of my desperation.
This kite over my head is without
sky and thus without use. Which
makes me think of the poetic
imagination.

 

. Of what-use are the
leaps my imagination provides? I
begin with apples and arrive at
the spaceship Challenger. I think
of snow and wander to the
Aegean Sea. No matter ifI’ve
never seen, felt, heard or known,
I can dream it into reality. Soon I
am holding the kite's string,
watching its flailing tail wrap
around the wind, awed by height
and distance. My legs are bare,
my arms are brown, and the sun
is hot against my back.

_ This is the way I survive
both winters and life. As long as
I can dream, I am warm. The
society we live in often silences
us. Our very existence can be
invisible. So I dream ofa world
where exploring silences is a pri-
mary occupation. Where I can
get honest criticism if I am acting
out in a way that is destructive to
myself or anyone around me.
Where I am encouraged to
become my finest self, and take
that imaginative leap where I can
be what a kite was meant to be.
V

Lynn Martin is a poet, AIDS edu-
cator, and writer who lives in
Brattleboro.

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