What If I Fly?

Flying is the deep and unspoken desire of the human heart, and in her first book of poetry, prose, and short-fiction, Sonia Montalvo ponders the question, "What if I fly?" In the most extreme case, it is a rhetorical question that demonstrates defiance in a world that doubts that certain people are able to defy the odds and fly. This work is nestled in the historical context of the #blacklivesmatter movement and the loud cry of masses of people questioning why the birds are being slaughtered. Sonia's question moves beyond asking for permission. It imagines a world where those who have had their wings systematically clipped decide to grow new ones. It questions what self-actualization looks like and casts a vision for the flyer about where their wings will take them. What if people who have been psychologically and spiritually crippled on their journey through life, decide not only to take up their mats and walk, but what if they decided to fly?