The girl who never falls

It's hard

to put yourself out there,

bear, exposed;

it's scary to take off your coat,

remove the mat,

and hang on limb over the edge of a cliff,

Will I fall?

Will the branch break?

or what it I just hang there, in the cold till my toes freeze off?

It's so scary that we rarely do it

we first ensure the wind doesn't sting too much, 

and that the sun is out, 

we check to make sure the branch is strong enough,

and there is someone there to catch us 

just in case,

But we can only limit casualties so much 

because the wind can change direction,

bringing ice that bites, and clouds that cover the sun,

Branches can snap unexpectedly,

Falling I was told, is inevitable,

I thought I could prove them wrong,

I kept careful track

measured each branch, and weighed all I placed on it

I thought I had succeeded, 

thought I would be known,

as the girl who never falls 

But turns out I'm not the one to escape the unavoidable

Today I fell,

the ground hit hard,

my blood vessels burst

bones broken

my skin torn, producing a river of hot blood,

because the wind changed directions 

in a way I didn't know how to predict

So I will lay here, in the dirt 

trying with all my might

to pull the pieces of myself back together 

as my spotter looks with pitying eyes

from the bank I left him on,

Because I thought I could move faster alone,