poemsandponderings

the ordinary ponderings of a closet poetess

Wednesday, November 08, 2006

cliff diver

He slams the door. The little red honda
shudders at the impact. His shoulders are taut
muscles straining against his skin.
In the searing sunlight, the planes of his
face are stark. His lips are pressed
thin into an severe line.He slings open the door
of the office and tosses his bag inside.
He pauses and for a moment,leans wearily against the door frame.
Thoughts race through his head.
"Everything's gone wrong today. Check didn't come, bills are late.
washing machine is broke again and girlfriend is yelling at him to fix it.
Wants him to quit his job and find something 9-5
or she's gonna walk out. Car almost didn't start, gotta
look at that tomorrow. Hope it's nothing serious, otherwise
he's gonna have to walk. Brother's sick again, hope it isn't serious."
For a moment his chest feels too tight to breath. He presses his hands against his
eyes,and wonders if it's possible for a person to shatter under the strain
of life.
The chime of a clock startles him. Almost late. He rushes to change
into his uniform of brightly colored
bathing suit. Cursing he makes a dash for the tree line in the distance.
As he approaches the cliffside, his heart begins to pound.
His skin shines, guilded in the sunlight. When he breaks through the
tree line, the tourists ooh and ahh at the sight of him.
6 feet of brawn in a tiny swim suit. He wears a blinding smile. It doesn't reach his eyes,
but the crowd can't see. The announcers begin their speeches. An oddly mixed litany
of english and spanish. He hears it all, but registers none of it.

He stands at the edge of the cliff. The oceans rushes up, clawing at the rocks to reach him.
He laughs and shakes his head. Now his smile is genuine.He tenses, ever muscle sliding perfectly
into position. His body knows this. Knows what is coming, knows how it will feel to make the leap.
The introduction is winding up. He steps to the very edge. Blue waters sweep out, sparkling and dancing to the edge of sight.
Sudden silence is his signal. His mind is clear, empty as he bunches muscles for the leap. Arms extended, his is flying for a moment.
And everything is right.

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Nice piece. Keep up the writing. The only question Ihave is: Does she walk out on him?

10:14 AM  

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