Poem for 02/22/02 (#3):

"The Optimist"

It really wasn't my fault in the first place

*I* never left the door open

Maybe my only fault is not having closed it

On the way out.

It's really not so bad

I've got this big movie camera here

I can take some very nice home movies from this height -

What a photo op!

And it really isn't so bad

Feeling the wind go rushing past my face

The wind is in my hair -

It's quite exhiliarating.

And the view is great! I feel

As if I could fly like a bird -

I feel like a bird, you know.

Soaring high, the river far below -

It sparkles in the sunlight. I love

To be up here, my heart is like a dove,

Soaring over all this place

And admiring the view.

And think! I must be one of few to've ever done this

I doubt many people have seen what I'm seeing now

With water below, the majestic rocks

Looming high above; the wind

Rushing past my face! I think

This is something more than camera's catch

This is not seeing the postcard

This is BEING there.

What view! I love the way the mid-day sun

Sparkles on the river, lending luminescence

To the cooling, cooling waters

That I will be experiencing firsthand

In just a moment.

And who knows! I might have worn my parachute after all,

And maybe I'll find a white-water rafting team

Nearby, so that I won't navigate the rapids all alone

And to give some expert tips.

What a beautiful day! I think

That I'll enjoy writing the letter

To tell my friends at home

About this one.

So here's my tale:

"Falling out of open airplane door,

Twelve-hundred feet above the Grand Canyon."