Of Things That Fly

[Joe Carillo]

Of Things That Fly
By Antonio Calipjo Go, Forum Contributor

I

Birds, what in Genesis 1:20 were called “winged fowl that fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven,” were among the very first “moving creatures that hath life” made by God on the fifth day of His Labor, well before He even thought to create His magnum opus, Man. Birds are indeed among the most beautiful and fascinating of the many things that fly “across the face of the firmament of the heavens.”

Many other things fly. Bats are the only mammals that have achieved the awesome power to fly, but some animals that make their homes high up in the canopy of rain forests can move swiftly from tree to tree by gliding. These include the flying lemurs, lizards, geckos, frogs and squirrels.

Insects, with more than a million identified species, make up about five-sixths of all the animals on earth. They have spread to all corners of our planet, occupying all kinds of habitat from the driest deserts to the wettest jungles. Most insects—moths, butterflies, bees, hornets, houseflies, locusts and mosquitoes—are accomplished aviators.

There are seeds that “fly,” like the seeds of dandelions, thistles and pampas grass. A part of the seed coat of the mahogany seed, for instance, forms a sort of “wing” which enables the seed, when ripe, to whirligig away on the wind. All that’s needed is a puff of wind and the winged seeds of black pines, maples, and lindens are set sailing on the wind, which blows the seeds far from their parent trees, thus dispersing and propagating them.

II

Daedalus designed the labyrinth to contain and confine the monster Minotaur in the island of Crete. King Minos, upon learning that Daedalus showed Ariadne how Theseus could escape from it, imprisoned him and his son Icarus inside the labyrinth. The great inventor, knowing that escape was impossible by land or sea, devised a clever plan of escape by air. He made two pairs of wings for himself and his son and then they took flight, but not before warning his son to maintain a steady middle course over the sea, as flying too close to the sun will melt the glue and the wings will drop off. Being young and foolish, Icarus did not take heed but flew recklessly hither and yon, consequently falling to his death.
 
Since then, Man never did abandon his dream to conquer the skies. Over time, men who have no wings at all had been able to make aircraft and spacecraft that now reach far, very far places that no bird, bat or butterfly can ever hope to attain.

III

Things, intangible and unseen, fly about us just as well.

Rumor, gossip and hearsay flit, flutter, and fly in the breeze. Fibs, innuendos, half-truths, untruths and lies swarm, like the murmuration of birds. These vile evil things, sown by black dirty hands upon the wind, pull, draw and drag the whirlwind behind them, destroying reputations, besmirching names noble and neat, and snuffing out lives lived in honor and dignity. Gossip-mongers, tattletales, and purveyors of fake news are like witches and warlocks out on a rampage during Walpurgis Night*, bringing havoc and ruination upon the village, upon us all, as effectively and efficiently as airborne virus or pathogens.

IV

But thank God there are good things that hover above our heads. Memories, especially those imbued with a certain je ne sais quoi, are like hunting horns whose sad lugubrious sound slowly dies on the wind. Daydreams and reveries float on the air currents of our imagination. Our dreams, ambitions, desires and aspirations are like arrow prayers that we project and propel outward and skyward, in the hope they’d find their targets. Time, too, flies over us, unseen but ever-present, reminding us that we are as fleeting as flowers of the field. And, lastly, hope, the thing with feathers, lifts our souls to heaven and raises our spirits up to God.

Man is verily a fallen god who remembers the Heavens whence he came. Though his feet are dunked in the gutter, he never ceases to look up to gaze at the stars, straining to divine the divine message of the constellations. Who among us have not dreamt of being a bird or a butterfly? Who among us do not desire to grow wings, to soar and be absolved of our earthly roots?

God fixes us when we’re broken, glues back on to us the wings we’ve lost or discarded along our wayward way. Only men who have faith have wings that enable them to fly and escape the prisons they keep within themselves.

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Je ne sais quoi is a French phrase that means "I don't know what". It's used to describe a quality that's hard to put into words, but that makes something or someone special, attractive, or distinctive.