whose sky was once the colour of walls, of iron bars,
leapt up over the high gate

to explore the air
the amaze of up there      

so far —

blueskying     
                   grazing
on what he guessed
glimpsed through the gates.

And having once set foot above cloudgrey
he is back to earth again and earth
is ordinary.    

                                   But he
has taken on skycolour for ever

and stands

      dreaming     
of invisible stars.

Having soared he is lame to earth,
favours a cracked fetlock, the cost of his courage.

I want to go with him. I would pay that price

* Joanna Boulter's Twenty Four Preludes & Fugues on Dmitri Shostakovich, 2006, Arc Publications was shortlisted for the Forward Prize for Best First Collection 2007.  She runs Arrowhead Press with Roger Collett.