such great heights

Walk Unafraid

Up on this tightrope with only the stretch

of my love's hand to keep my equilibrium,

trying to not look down while hearing

the echo of her, don't look down,

following each tentative step

over a crevasse of vacuum suction
pulling at arms extended like clipped wings

for balance, hanging in the balance, suspended
between where we are going and where we have been,

the other side almost in reach of my rusted hands,

my aluminum legs bending but not breaking,
tin man knees wobbling with each compression

of the wire I walk along, its line

the shortest distance between two points,

but not necessarily the safest,
so close my eyes as the rain begins

a slow parade from head to toe,
as the shake and shiver of uncertainty

unhinges my spine and with it
the fear of falling slips from my pockets

rendering me weightless and able
to amble above it all and into her outstretched arms,

ready to walk unafraid a future of such great heights.