The instructor grins at me from under his moustache, then shouts – IT’S YOUR TURN
I am ready.
What a performance!
One step out of the plane and already off my feet,
Dangling,
Out of position on the positioning platform
Earth zooms past underneath at a
Ridiculous rate
With one last look into the instructor’s mocking eyes
I let go
The world moves
Too fast to understand it
Reality unravels
As frantically as the chute’s cord
Falling,
Falling free,
Falling free of control,
Of responsibility,
Of burden
The whooshing of the wind merges
With the words
Screaming in my mind
‘ONE-ONE-THOUSAND, TWO-ONE-THOUSAND, THREE-ONE-THOUSAND, …
My mouth says nothing
Unheard, unseen, suspended in a big O
Falling,
Falling free
The world quickly slows, my mind both fuzzy and clear, I calmly descend
In a gentle invisible lift, leisurely viewing the emerald English countryside, such
A beautiful sight to see, but my wonder and awe is
Sharply interrupted,
By a voice in my ear, bellowing –
Assume landing position!
A short wait,
A hefty bump,
A forward roll that a Ninja would be ashamed of, and
I’ve made it.
And I lie there.
I lie there,
Arms and legs outstretched, a smiling simpleton
Trying to create a snow angel in a grassy field.
Then I remember
…CHECK CANOPY’