The Tightrope Walker
Climbing toward the peak of the Big Top
Where all attention is directed
He does not pause to peer down the ladder
Or gauge the distance he might fall
But takes to the wire as his father trained him
One step at a time across the chasm
As he mastered it.
Yet now to keep life interesting
He carries his family on his shoulders
And imagines he is walking toward a future
Where he will not have to take such risks
Without a net and for such livelihood
Where his world hangs in the balance
On every step.
Todd Outcalt is the author of thirty books in six languages with most recent poetry in Rattle, The Christian Science Monitor, and The Oklahoma Review. His first collection of poetry, Where in the World We Meet, is forthcoming from Chatterhouse Press in the spring of 2014. Todd lives in Brownsburg, Indiana, and is also working with his wife on a book about Indiana wineries.
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