The Boy, The Man, or The Bird

Subject vector-illustrated by George R. Powell
Background photo by Chirayu Sharma

"The Boy, The Man, or the Bird"

The Boy: always holding onto the dreams that gave Hope to his youthful heart, aspiring to take to the sky and soar as he believes he is capable of.

The Man: having been grounded by Life's more indiscriminate realities, he knows that his place is on the ground.

The Bird: the Core of his heart, an abstraction given shape by the Boy's hopes and dreams. Through life experiences, the Man has tried to convince himself that these wings are merely strapped on by way of idle fantasy.

And yet, he wears them anyway and continues on through the night, carrying this "idle fantasy" within him. He has come to understand that everyone carries an "idle fantasy" in their hearts, creating a glow of comforting light through an otherwise darkened desert - a light that may even inspire other wanderers.

One may only see a Man wearing the wings of a Bird and wonder whether he is walking as a idle fantasy-filled Boy or as a Man in need of a ray of hope.

In truth, no matter what he chooses, he will always walk as all three.