KidSpirit

One Step at a Time

The Body in BalancePoetry
Artwork by: Catherine Hochman

Artwork by Catherine Hochman

One step at a time

I noticed how the sun shines through the trees shedding canopies

I gaze at the light dancing onto forest floor,

I stare at leaves descending down

the scent of cedar fills the moist air.

All the sound around me slowly dimmed

like the last slow song at a hushed dance

but in this case, the last course.

My feet are firmly on the wobbling wire

hands resting beside me, holding the harness

my gloves warm and damp, with my hands locked on the harness.

I take a quick glance at my feet and the ground some thirty feet below,

my ankles shaking and weak.

I can feel the breeze swaying the wire.

The faint sound of children laughing and playing below

one step at a time.

I feel soft footsteps on the wire

the wobbly wire creates a rhythm

I turn around to catch a glimpse of a familiar face

she’s walking ever so slowly.

With one slip that familiar face is hanging suspended in the air

I watch as she strains her body to reach the rope feet above her head

I monitor her as she pulls her arms up in agony

and she regains her balance.

I still walk I step on the wooden platform

into safety.

I unhook my clips and re-hook them on the zip line

they click together like a million pins hitting the floor

without a thought I swiftly soar through the air

fear is absent in my mind

I accelerate hands free dangling in the open air.

Sometimes I wish everything was that easy

and when I look up into the cloudless blue sky

I wish I could be able to just let go and fly

instead of going to a soccer practice for two hours,

and doing homework for a few more.

But I still wish I could just be able to just let go and fly.

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Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn

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Art by Jaden Flach, Brooklyn