To Life

dedicated to those who have been to the edge... and lived to tell about it

It wasn't a cry for help
more of a whisper of futility
that led you to that ledge
all alone in the cool evening wind

been so long since you heard the quiet
since your breath registered in your ears
and your heart made an audible sound
as it beat within your heaving chest

"this is life" you think
as the wind comes blowing against you like a familiar friend
reminding you of clouds and oceans
of a past so long ago forgotten

a conflicted tear pushes to the rim
of a downward looking eye
slides to the end of a lash
and falls

twelve seconds later
a splash
unnoticed by those below
but clearly felt at this height

and for reasons that you don't fully grasp
you step back off the ledge
realizing that jumping or staying
may not fix anything

but as you come down from the edge
and come in out of the wind
only one thought echoes in you wearied mind
"this is life"

you've been to the edge
and back...

to life

June 21, 2005