vince says i'll say "wow" every time.

for wes and evan... from the ol' poetry blog:

the wind whistled in my ears as my mind, overwhelmed by the sudden change in trajectory,
screamed a terrifying yet strangely matter-of-fact monotone:
"we're going down"
i awkwardly tried to reposition myself so as to absorb the impact on my side, thus shielding the more sensitive, albeit non-vital parts of my earthly body.
i couldn't help but wonder in the infinite moment before my awkwardly stiff figure hit the ground how i'd come to such an unfortunate demise.
only a moment ago, i was flooded by a freedom that i had never known, pulsing through my veins like an electrical current, coupled with the satisfaction that comes from a smattering of awed on-lookers and a very acute awareness of my place amongst the cosmos. i was met with a breath-taking view, shocked by the beauty offered forth by my surroundings.
dignified. purposeful. wise. accomplished.

...and then there came a jolt, and a sense that somehow i was being betrayed by these forces of nature that i had only recently conquered, and i pitched forward from the summit.

as the hard ground brought forth a flood of pain and disorientation, i couldn't help but feel indignant, unable to believe that a world declared to be "good" could feel so inherently "bad". i was deeply wronged by the laws of gravity and bitterly betrayed by my own physiology.

and still, i mustered the will to rise, to assess the damage, and to continue the chore of breathing.

... only to resume the climb, trying not to fall off the freaking monkey bars again.