Imagine being trapped in a balloon high overhead,

An angry storm then appeared, one could not help but dread.

What transpired seemed like battle, as coloured bolts just flew,

Disdainful gods and war games, with the lightning that they threw.

A purple cloud transformed to black, I saw what then took form.

A crackling, angry vortex roiled, disguised within the storm.

I tried the gas to gain some height - there's no way I could rise.

A darkened tunnel, with a gaping maw, filled the darkened skies.

My life had seemed to reach its limit, it slowly drew me in,

With surprise, I felt unworried just a tingling on my skin.

I barely noticed I was through, it's embrace was still quite near,

Where I now felt mere apprehension, I thought it should be fear.

I noticed movement in the cloud-flecked sky; suddenly I'm wary.

But what I beheld on golden wings, was anything but scary.

He said his name was Hermes, his task here was to welcome me.

He leaped inside with childish pride, confusing me completely.

He placed a dark box on my floor, then looked me up and down,

With dancing eyes and jaunty style, dressed in a coloured gown.

I tried to peer around him, to see what he had brought -

"If you have need of anything, it acts upon your thought."

To demonstrate he reached inside, and when he did withdraw,

He held two apples of lavish choice - my thought was open awe.

I caught the one he threw me, watched his satisfying bite,

Before I joined him and was swept away - it's taste was pure delight.

"You now reside in the home of gods, and to the eyes of men,

You are unseen but, with what you dream, you'll be a denizen.

If by chance you choose to stay, in some place with a strong feel,

With just a thought, it will take form - for all, it will be real."

He pats me on the head then leaps, his golden wings unfold,

A timeless god - imagine that - while never growing old.

He disappears in seconds, on a solar-powered breeze,

Impressing me with his skill, handled with such ease.

Since then my world's been timeless, as I soar and sometimes land

In London's rain, and China's pain, and even Gobi's sand.

I've walked the famous boulevard, called by lovers St. Michel,

And peered from lofty parapets, on majestic Tour Eiffel.

When Big Ben rang his seven bongs, instead of normal six,

I was there, trapped in misty fog, as on the banks of Styx.

Pizzarro was a little man - his head's now tied on with wire.

I watched in horror as ancient towns, were consumed by cosmic fire.

Luxor and Aleppo, the Mayan ones called Itzah,

I watched Toltecs at their apex, and the downfall I foresaw.

A Templar's charge shakes the earth - I'm armoured, lance in hand.

The Moors flee in disarray, as we take back Spanish land.

Helen's face was beautiful, but nothing like fair Cleo.

Across dawn's time I've even seen the lion now called Leo.

I played a hand with a frightened band, to kill an evil man,

And joined the expedition at Hillary's last  great stand.

Making love on a moonlit beach, with two sisters I embrace,

Our sighs and moans swept on the wind, joining spirits in this place.

From long before great Pharoah Tut to Orville's first great flight,

To deep in space where an alien race was drawn by our sun's light.

I have yet to understand why the gods would choose me,

To wander lonely on Wordsworth's cloud, or brave a choppy sea.

With my eyes still like a child's, through many realms I roam,

My Immortal Visions of timeless flight are now yours with this poem.

Copyright 2005  Nick Nash