TAKING THE PLUNGE

Mainak Dhar

Balanced on the edge,

bottomless abyss below,

all familiar and known,

fast receding behind

A tentative toe,

tests the emptiness ahead,

and I shrink back in fear,

clutching familiar ground

Voices ring out all round,

telling me to jump,

for tis beautiful below,

all my dreams come true

Another nervous foray,

a sudden gust of wind,

and Im thrown forward,

in unexpected flight

I careen off the edge,

drinking in the rush of air,

the world round me a blur,

welcoming it with open arms.

Indeed a bird am I,

soaring through the sky,

so lost in my own dreams,

the jagged rock below unseen

Crushed spirit, lost hopes,

my dreams scattered around,

I begin the slow and painful climb,

back to where I once stood.

But I have flown once,

and will now try it again,

for I have glimpsed,

fields of flowers below.