HIGH-WIRE ARTIST

The heartbeat’s too faint—
I tried to skip
down the boardwalk path,
the corner of my carnival eye glossed,
where pinks and reds
bled into blue,
and a thin blade of sadness
sliced through the ocean waves

I saw you drowning
in your carnival suit of cheap life.
Did you hear me call?
I shouted, “One more smile for life!”
But the pudding seas swallowed you whole

Now I walk the high-wire,
this tightrope called falling life,
teetering between the sky
and the abyss below

I felt the wind breathe
its quiet warning,
as the rope trembled beneath my feet,
each step a gamble
against the pull of gravity—
yet the crowd cheers for the fall

The sky grows dim;
night becomes my silent audience.
With each sway, I wonder—
is it courage that keeps me walking,
or the fear of what waits
below the safety net?

:: 09.14.2024 ::