By: Nikil Revuri

A thin wire stretched, pulled
Taut over a raging sea,
From shore to distant shore,
The dirt from which we rose,
To the faraway land that we all go.

Tentative steps forward,
Carefully balancing on that rope,
I begin that journey,
Waves crashing far underneath,
Moon and sun cycling wildly overhead.

With every step taken, I surge,
Pushed ever faster, howling winds
Biting at my heels, forcing me along.
Memories come and go, relinquished
By the inevitable passing of time.

Around me, other lines draw into
The horizon, each sporting a rider,
Each on their own quests.
Some are near, getting nearer
And some are far, getting farther.

Ahead, they all plunge
Into a wall of mist that I, too,
Must face, to conquer or
Be conquered, within those
Hazy tribulations, uncertain perils.

Sheer force strikes me, crossing the
Misty veil, staggering, making useless
My limbs, they flail and fall.
My body tumbles off the knife-thin edge,
Into the azure-bounded abyss.

On a thread I catch hope
As I descend tumultuously,
Slowing to a tenuous halt
Seconds before my demise,
Swaying in obscuring fog and gale.

One hand atop the other,
I will not be broken.
And so I rise, certainty
My ally as I strive to board
That pathway once more.

Hoisting myself up, and out
Of the mist, past those trials.
I am proven, hands shaking
But heart unshaken, stepping
Forward, to the unknown horizon.

My journey must continue
Despite such perils ahead,
Past the fearsome wind
Beyond the anxious waves,
My line will prevail.