I look at the ground
far, far below
I am nauseous,
I sway- left, left right right left right
I am d z y , my head is a s
i z w l
i r
It’s a sheer steep vertical drop.
If the pathway I stood on gave way,
I would f
a
l
l
f
a
l
l
d
o
w
n
Far far below. I am petrified.
I cannot walk. I am mortally terrified.
I cannot look here, cannot look there
Cannot look anywhere anywhere anywhere
Keeping my gaze fixated on the surface
beneath my feet, wilfully blinkered
I walk, your name my mantra
safeguarding me from disaster
from annihilation. It is even more paralysing
if the surface below is glass. The only place
to look is straight up front. I am trying hard
to repress my screams. It seems interminable
this wait, this walk. I feel like a stuntwoman
performing acrobatics in a film.
The wait is over. The relief palpable.
I have reached the pinnacle of bravery
I look around. It is an ordinary day.
Ordinary people go about routine business,
unconcerned. I am on a bridge, I am
in a mall, on a high balcony, on an
elevated metro station.
Heroic Stuntwoman or Acrophobia
