The Funambulist's Last Trick
Double dog dare you built the parapet
of words we’d edge onto when, as girls, risk’s
heady effervescent drafts went stale, yet
the final, or next-to-final, arabesques
turned on nerve and will remained before us.
It was our daily work to make our world
(as lovers also must) and these rituals
of hazard our sole Amen, the last chord
played each day faithfully. The act alone
didn’t mean the same. If you suspect
the words dulled or waned through repetition,
we felt their lack keenly, a defect
in ourselves. To turn away or back down
meant fear would soon become its own excuse—
as quiet (or wit) collects weight beyond
any good intention. I’ve grown unused
to heights, but, here, I’ll go first to prove
it doesn’t hurt to say, It’s you I love.
of words we’d edge onto when, as girls, risk’s
heady effervescent drafts went stale, yet
the final, or next-to-final, arabesques
turned on nerve and will remained before us.
It was our daily work to make our world
(as lovers also must) and these rituals
of hazard our sole Amen, the last chord
played each day faithfully. The act alone
didn’t mean the same. If you suspect
the words dulled or waned through repetition,
we felt their lack keenly, a defect
in ourselves. To turn away or back down
meant fear would soon become its own excuse—
as quiet (or wit) collects weight beyond
any good intention. I’ve grown unused
to heights, but, here, I’ll go first to prove
it doesn’t hurt to say, It’s you I love.
Page(s) 69
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