Upon a ledge with outstretched arms, I stand and look down upon the world

The horizon shimmers silver, no dark clouds anywhere in sight

Once I sat upon this very ledge, many years ago, with legs dangling in the air

Held back only by my arms, the only thing that kept me in reality still

This dream recurs, the thought refusing to leave. No, it does not bring nightmares

A sense of calm descends, knowing I’d not done wrong back then

I now return to the memory of this ledge; there’s unfinished business here

An ode that I promised to someone, someone who once needed me, and I failed

The someone whom I climbed back over the ledge for, to who this life is owed

Silence is all I have for you, prayers deep within the heart for your soul

Hoping your eternal quest for silence has finally succeeded

I’m standing on a ledge
Fifty stories up staring at my goal
My personal heaven
That star that is always in front of me
But just an inch out of your grasp
Hanging so delicately just beyond
The very tips of my fingertips
I see it clearly now
It is up here in the clouds, brightening the heavens
All I need to do is leave this ledge
Two steps
One leap forward and I will
Soar into the sky and reach out

But what if you fall?
I won’t
It’s too far out of reach
I’ll make it
How do you know?
I don’t

But I’m willing to take the shot
I’ll tie this towel around my neck
It’s my cape as I jump
Telling myself that there is an S on my chest
Because I am certain that I can fly
And if I can’t, if I plummet down
I will find comfort
Counting the seconds as I descend
Because I know the ground will eventually break my fall
Then I’ll climb

Back to my feet
Brush off the dirt and the blood
Back to my ledge
Re-tie my cape and focus out again
Back to the air
Where I will fly or fall again

And until I die
I will continually climb back to my ledge
Readjust my broken skeleton
Even though I know it will never heal
Swap out my blood for ink
Hoping that it will keep me afloat
High in the air, moving forward
And even if it doesn't
I will always take that jump
Because life isn’t about whether or not
You fly or fall,
It is all about whether you have the stones
To take the leap