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