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Thursday, 17 February 2022

High Wire

                                                         High Wire

To step out into the void

The wire shivering as it takes the strain

Of my weight upon it

Is to walk into an unknown

An empty darkness

The first few paces of the downward stretch

Towards the disappearing centre

High above the watchers who hold their breath

Their eyes pinned upon my every tremble

Until I establish balance

An equilibrium of mind and body

 

The deadly drop beneath my out-stretched arms

Fingers tautly pointing

With limbered legs

And the distance to the hardened Earth

Are of no immediate concern

Nor any aid to concentration

The only point of focus

Being one foot in front of another

Eyes upon the destination

 

Crowds and lights both disappear

Into a faded emptiness

Below my fragile body

As it seems to float along the rope

Blood pumping in my ears

The silence of air

The clarity of perfect quiet

Alone above the world

Determined not to tumble

Into the arms of death below

Copyright Andy Fawthrop 2022 

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