Differ. Halt. Imagine.

carrion birds descend

   even they approach the dying

   with halting steps

then

tearing

life from the living

starving beaks exposing

your inky words

that bled into my bones

and stained me.

vicariously now - some would say lesser

   (here I beg to differ, for flying is flying)

my eyes catch

a shard of blue

and my fingers brush eternity

I am finally flying in dozens of pieces

each piece still mine.

scattered remnants of consciousness imagine

   a forever flight

but too broken to grasp the concept

I turn

to simpler things.

   like a silver flash still trapped

     barren

     flightless

        and mine.

inventory is taken

then

the missing piece is realized

recognized

hardly recognizable but it is what it is

a heart

a tin man's heart

indigestible but more importantly

never for anyone but you to take

to devour

to mark with blood red ink

then

ensure that it could never fly.

wings beat on

through stifling, wavering heat

vultures have no need for hearts

the world spins on

and I am flying

   but still stained.

Explained here