Bravery exists in many forms: leaning in for a first kiss, moving away from family, confessing a mistake. You don’t have to put your life in danger to be considered brave; you can put your emotions in danger, your dignity, your soul. But no matter the act, it is still a brave act as long as at least a small piece of yourself is being put up for the potential fall.
The poem below is an experiment in multiple types of bravery, from the courage necessary to jump from a platform, to the hesitant act of sending poetry to a friend.
In an e-mail from my friend Saniya: “I got thinking about what could really really make me happy right now…And I realized it was doing the one thing I really love, which is the trapeze. So then I got describing to myself why I love the trapeze so much (this is all in my denial of how much work I have to do)…and so I wrote this. I’m happy cause it only took me 15 minutes or so (I started to write a short story for myself and then I decided I would turn it into a poem for you [a.k.a Alexa…yes!]*).”
[my words]*
Thank you, Saniya. This means a lot.
So, in honor of risk-takers and daredevils, here is an on-the-spot poem about the Late Latin trapezium
written by Saniya G.
Standing up there
Arms outstretched,
Hips back, knees bent.
The bar is heavy.
I look down
And the fear consumes me with a tight grip.
It won’t let go, but I refuse to give in to its power.
I look up, focused on my task.
My nerves are bunched up and concentrated in my core.
“Hep!”
I jump.
The nerves explode.
My body is at the mercy of my mind.
I let go,
I pull my knees to my chest.
I flip.
The landing is smooth and bouncy.
The net is strong.
I see nothing but the white top of the tent.
I’m giddy.
I laugh.
An on-the-spot poem about the trapeze (a response to Saniya’s on-the-spot)
written by Alexa L., November 5, 2010
I am not
letting go
of this bar.