Ten thousand feet above any other breath
I have ever taken
Easing chilled eye lids close
Savoring the clarity of the moment
A running start
Front flip off the front of the falls
Water pausing in mid-air
Then rushing past me in a deafening roar

My stomach turns in knots as I watch him eating
They call him a geek
Glass, copper coils, iron nails
His plumber is famous
A broken light bulb scatters before me
Now it's my turn to geek out
Placing a jagged shard on the end of my defenseless tongue

Dancing orbs of light scatter across the festival
Grounds ablaze with performers of all talents
Dragon breathed, tattooed, freaks from the circus's sidelines
All of us blood children to the flame
Blistered, scarred hands twirl above me
My fire hoop twisting up my glistening body
Heart entranced.
Fully alive.