Training Wheels

I must have been no more than six or seven
When I learned to ride using training wheels on
A little blue bike that I rode much too fast
And wound up destroying before it wrecked me.

I learned to balance in very short order;
Learned to fly without leaving the ground;
Learned the spirit of kinetic motion that
Stirred my soul and set it free.

A few trips over the handle bars,
A few dips into the puddles of Spring,
A few slips and slides in the graveled driveway
Resulting in torn pant leg and skinned up knee.

Lessons are easy when young and resilient,
And balance is learned at the drop of a hat,
And vision is clear for the future is now
And our day is filled with simplicity.

Pity we can't use training wheels
In learning to scale our emotional lives
Where balance is often a fleeting companion
Blinded by sunlight, unable to see.

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