Issue 7:
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Paul Tylor
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High-Wire Act
Three Bulgarian men allegedly brothers,
Sequins swarming all over their vests like bees,
Are prepared to traverse an invisible wire,
And turn ten tumbles from a trapeze.
The brothers Ktezler all are calm and cocky,
Rotating their hands and extending their bare feet,
They are tiny-waisted, yet are stocky.
Stutters and stammers, before its noise reaches,
And dims when the stuttering ceases.
All these men do is virtually walk on air,
Fifty dark meters above the craning crowd;
It's the absence down below of a sway-backed net
That makes applause last so long and loud.
This same phenomenon is from time to time found
In other more down-to-earth phases of life:
A real danger is not really thought to exist
Until scrutinized under a light.
~Paul Tylor
Recently retired from a career with the National Geographic Society, Paul is the co-author of several books for bird-watchers and bird-lovers. Widely published online, he also edits Cenotaph. Email.
© 2001 by Paul Tylor. All Rights Reserved.
© 2000-2002 by Cayuse Press. All Rights Reserved.
This page updated April 30, 2002.