The Tightrope Walker

The Tightrope Walker

The tightrope walker

Inches forward

Amazing the crowd with his nerves of steel

And his calm eyes that show no fear

As he gazes into the darkness ahead,

Searching for his safety.

Yet his confidence, he knows,

This frail and fragile strength,

Like the rope beneath him,

Is all that defies gravity

And its tug of doom.

Yet also, this strength

Too overindulged, will

Off the left instead of the right

Hurl him from his perch at breakneck speed

Down to break his neck.

John E Leahy

Ca 1970