The Man Who Fell to Earth
We have been falling all our lives.
When we first learn to walk
Our parents cheer the walking but for us
The suddenness of falling is the prize.
We earn degrees in falling
Learn to dredge success from every fault
We are the much-praised generation
We know the power in the fall.
We fall into everything
Falling forward into steep-climb futures
Falling backwards when emotion pushes
When memory drags us down.
The years are falling from us
Thoughts we clung to are so many leaves
Our lives are autumn and the branches
Sketch their meaning on a purple sky.
Not long ago we saw the people falling
Turning from the firewall at their backs
Tonight a man stands up, a resurrection
After the farthest fall from the highest point.
© Helena Nolan
Skydiver Felix Baumgartner breaks sound barrier
Helena's work has appeared in anthologies and literary magazines including; The Stinging Fly, The Moth, and the Spoken Ink audio website. She is the 2011 winner of the Patrick Kavanagh Award.
Grounded
Strato-stupendulous,
Austrian Baumgarten,
spinning and thinking of
strawberry jam;
falling from space like an
extraterrestrial,
home to a hug and a
smack from his mam.
© Anthony Baverstock
Skydiver Felix Baumgartner's out-of-control spin
Anthony Baverstock is from Colchester, reputed home of Humpty-Dumpty.
