She climbs up the ladder,
lands at the tight rope,
her trick of choice.
She will attempt to walk it,
straight across,
without leaning either way.

She is fine until halfway through,
then her foot slips and she plummets
to the left--but she catches herself.

She holds onto the wire with one hand,
and she works to pull herself back up,
but her mind tells her to just give up.

She stays there a while, just hanging,
two voices arguing in her head,
one doubts while the other hopes.

She pulls herself back up,
takes a few steps,
then falls back down--on the opposite side.

She catches herself again,
but only barely--just a finger now,
and her by heart races and she's panicking.

She tries to breathe, just breathe
and relax and pull herself back up,
but the whispering says she can't.

She is being watched by everyone,
crowds and crowds gather to point
and laugh, but no one tries to help.

She listens to the whispers in her mind
as they tell her about these people laughing,
as they tell her to just get by up and out of their way.

She climbs back up, ready to run and hide,
but back at the top, her confidence is back
and she makes her way to the end,

Walking on the wire.