The Jump

I tried to look so sure of myself

Pedaling my bike approaching the quarry

A hint of danger; I looked down

at a child’s paradise.

Flinging our bikes we raced down to the quarry.

Past the old rusted crane, railroad tracks, bulldozer.

Drawn by a magnet

to the cliff’s edge.

Water’s bright reflections

danced in my eyes.

I looked down; the others shucked off their clothes.

Embarrassed, I waited to be the last.

One by one

they disappeared over the edge,

naked bodies gleaming in the light.

Their voices called me from below.

Shedding my clothes

shy and embarrassed

the sun on my skin

suddenly free

I stepped back and leapt

leaving my childhood

I dove

Joseph Men

September 30, 1996

© 2001, Joseph Men