Why say, “A bird on the wing”
instead of a bird flying or a flying bird?
On its own wing could a bird fly?
Wouldn’t such contortions keep the bird earth-bound?
Once I saw a turkey trip over its wing.
A ghastly sight. It had no head.
Such ungainliness would evoke laughter if death weren’t involved.
Perhaps the torso of a bird
isn’t as important as its wing
in man’s mind’s eye.
How’s “A bird on stilts or tri-pronged talons”
But that wouldn’t fly in the world as we know it.
Yes, the approximate image loosely fits my aunt in Resthaven.
“A wing on the bird” sounds too pedestrian.
“A bird under the wing” too biblical.
“Wing it, Bird!” too improvisational.
No, the phrase must be metaphysical for it to stick.
Catching a bird in flight is what it’s meant to be.
A bird is Being. Its wing Becoming
or visa versa.
Still, “A bird on the wing” sounds pretty.
That primitive eye catching it all
like Keats did in his Grecian Urn.
A bird on the wing, A bird on the wing, A bird on the wing!
I will use it over and over in various guises!
How’s “A fluke on the Whale”, “A Mole on the Cheek”
“A Giraffe on the Run”
“A Man on his Feet”?