by Randal Pride
When I fly at night
I am not a bird
I have no feathers
though sometimes I flap
my arms like wings
to rise, but usually I rise
without effort, because
gravity isn’t required here
there are no molecules
being tugged down
by the earth-core
no things but phantoms here
even I, with my phantom
wings.
Randal Pride is a graphic designer living in Arden. After Navy duty and a BA from Memphis Academy of Arts, he lived on the intentional community in Tennessee known as “The Farm,” where he helped run a print shop and pottery. He was also, briefly, the donor-database manager for Plenty International, a 1980 co-recipient of the “Right Livelihood Award.” His ongoing interests are art, poetry, green economies, and meditation.
About No Feathers—“No Feathers” is an attempt to probe and experience flying in dreams. Some dream flights are clumsy, barely get-off-the-ground, and others allow us to soar with ease by thought alone. A bird not only embodies flight but also symbolizes the ability to move between heaven and earth, conscious and unconscious.
Elizabeth Lutyens, Editor-in-Chief, Founder
Janet Moore, Special Features Editor
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The Great Smokies Review is an online publication of The Great Smokies Writing Program, a joint effort of the UNC Asheville departments of Literature and Language, Creative Writing, and the Asheville Graduate Center.
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