Like a child
being pushed
for the first time
on a swing
falling up and back and out
into space
gulping at cool air

caught

between screams of terror
and chortling delight

diaphragm drawn

taut

pushing heart and lungs
forth
ever closer to surging

from pallid lips
pursed
with anguished anticipation
of unknowable ends
to anxious dreams

He falls back to earth
contented
to regain
reassuring reconnection
with familiar
maternal
joyous, laughing
loving arms
and womb-like
repositioning
to gravity’s terrestrial pull

Joy is
contentment’s
welcomed, beloved guest
simply a lodger
lingering longer
than expected