Inspired by a Statue of Magellan

by ST, early 1980s

This moment I stand
on a promontory . . . 
I fill my lungs with breathlessness,
my soul with the awesome,
grandeur of the heavens.
Though my world before me
is only a dark silhouette
and its details indistinguishable,
I go forth
with an explorer's thrill
to meet the unknown future--
aware there will be sloughs,
but expectant
to find also
a promised land.