As I walk

on the mountain ridge,

the whole earth visible below,

I come to a rock.

A giant's foot stool.

A sheer cliff

dropping fatally into the abyss.

I pass the cliff in awe.

I pass three

four

five cliffs,

and when I get to the sixth,

tallest cliff,

I climb up,

hang my toes precariously

over unfathomable depths.

Vertigo tickles my thighs,

seizes my lungs.

Gasping,

teetering on the edge

of my future,

I fear falling

or flying

into a new life.