Fly, Caroline, Fly

By Henry Coldnight

Whenever I close my eyes,
the doorway to another world opens...

This happened to me three times today.

The first time was this morning,
everyone except me was yelling--
my parents wouldn't stop screaming at each other,
and my little brother was bullying his imaginary friends,
but the worse part was they all ganged up,
wanted me to do something about it,
I just told them I have to get ready for school
as I calmly chewed my cereal.

When I closed my eyes,
the doorway to another world opened.

I took a trip to a long, long time ago,
when the Beauty sleeps,
when the animals could talk,
when some elephants can fly...
Then I came back, just in time, too!
They were just about to stop yelling--
and I just missed the bus to school.
So when I went out the door,
I was in no hurry and I wondered
where else would I go today.

Just wondering around, I was lost by myself,
on the street. A strange man came by and said
he would take me to school-on my dad's behalf-
because he was a friend.
Because he seemed harmless,
I got in his car without thinking twice--
Just then the policeman came to talk to us,
and we both got a ride in his car instead--
I got the shotgun, and he had to sit in the back.

On the way home, I closed my eyes,
again, the doorway to another world opened.

This time I took a trip to a place far, faraway,
where a new planet was being built,
where people traveled between different stars,
where an epic journey was about to begin...
When I came back, it was already late.
I knew that because nobody was yelling,
now, they just wanted to know if I was okay;
even my dog was worried.
He placed his nose right in my face,
sniffing, scanning, search and destroy.

Later that night, when I woke up--by all the screaming again.
I realized that there was fire, something was burning,
it was our house.
“No, Caroline. No!” that was my dad on the stage.
“Do something!” that was Mother calling for the rain.
“Mommy, look, Happy is going in the house!” said my little brother.
“They are all okay then, that's good,” I spoke to myself.

Mr. Teddy Bear just sat in his usual spot, sipping tea.
When I asked him why he didn't run, he just said:
“No tea party friend will be left behind,”
and he smiled lightly.
I thought for a second and smiled back;
I was glad that he stayed.

I sat down next to him, closed my eyes. And
the doorway to another world seemed to have opened
just as the fire was making a protective shield
all around us...

Flying, hand in hand with a joyful angel,
whose carefree hair has the color of the blue sky,
who has compassionate eyes--with the modesty to cry--
what a wonderful feeling that is, to rain--
“Don't give up, give it another try,”
she always says, “you don't realize...how much the rain,
your rain, can save people's lives.”

Looking into their eyes, when I closed my eyes,
the doorway to another world opened,
and I realized I can fall, but because of it,
I knew in my heart that:
I can still fly--even when I fall.

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Take wings and fly, Caroline, your pain is their divine--
Don't let the storm beat you up, child of the rain;
Don't let the fire melt you down, child of the ice;
Don't need to worry, no need to be afraid,
Watch over them, watch over us.
And the story of Caroline continues.

Unauthorized Copying Is Prohibited. Ask the author first.
Copyright 2009 Henry Coldnight
Published on Tuesday, October 6, 2009.     Filed under: "Poetry"
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Comments on "Fly, Caroline, Fly"

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  • Sketso On Thursday, October 15, 2009, Sketso (435)By person wrote:

    for some reason, I had Donnie Darko on the brain while I was reading this... or perhaps a flick produced by Rob Zombie. It's a gut-wrenching tale told from an innocent point of view, making it almost light-hearted, yet underlaced with the sense of dread that comes from knowing there's nothing the reader can do to stop the tragedy dabbled throughout. Hooked me through to the end, until I closed my eyes...

  • Everlasting Gobstopper On Tuesday, October 6, 2009, Everlasting Gobstopper (18)By person wrote:

    weird this poem works well as both a short story and a free verse poem I don’t know if you intended it to flow that way but the structure just draws you in and makes you want to read on and on… slightly humorous as well "… my little brother was bullying his imaginary” COL (chuckle out loud)

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