Jump

by Jen Mohr

I might have enjoyed the sight
0f the arresting mountainous terrain
0r the sky so cleverly arranged
into cumulous animal shapes

I might have been in awe of the meadowlark
and whippoorwill cawing incessantly from
a nearby birch or cedar
or even the way the gravel
looked quite beautiful

I might have noticed how clean the air felt
and how the silhouette of a tree branch to my left
kind of looked like a hand with long fingers or
how the newly-made nest in the same tree
verged on, well, perfect

I might have
had it not been for the fact that I
was standing on the top of a cliff
waiting to jump
not to take my life
but to live

For the first time in my life
despite my terrified legs
and petrified arms
and scared-stiff back that wouldn’t tip forward

I did jump
I jumped
and when my body hit the air
it began to soften
and I breathed
and I grew wings
and on the way down

I passed by the arresting mountains
and the animal-shaped clouds
and the meadowlark
and whippoorwill
by the birches
and cedars
and the tree with hand branches
and the verging-on-perfect nest

And I spotted the gravel
so beautiful and pebbly

And I landed.

This is Jen's first published poem. Yay! She can be reached at MohrJen@aol.com.