Jack and Jill

by Peter Langella

It is a curiosity
that brings Jack and Jill
up the hill, not water.

Each of their steps
feels an arduous climb,

like braving up
rickety ladders, a rise
not free from the burdens
of gripping hands tensing arms.

Or you might say
their struggle is that
of fledglings
opening their wings
for the first time,

or how it must feel
for playful dolphins
breaching in a calm night sky
teeming with the fires of stars.