The Leap

He stood at the precipice,
With unblinking vacant eyes
With water shimmering below.
His face an eerie calm
Of having weathered a storm.

“Don’t jump”, Startled, he looked at me,
And for a moment those eyes,
Held a strange wonder.
Then vacant again, with lips firm,
“You don’t understand”, said he

“Please, talk to me”, I implored
as he breathed with soundless words.
“Just pause…Nothing is ever lost.
It will surely pass.
Just come back to this side, and we’ll talk”

He gave a sudden smile-
“Thank you” he said as he extended his hand,
And asked if I knew the story of Pandora’s box
“Yes”, I said with relief, his hand in mine
Tugging at him to climb back,
He looked me straight in the eye and said,
“But, what if there’s no hope in the end…?”
And in the blink of an eternal moment,
He let go and leaped

Originally published at typingmythoughts.blogspot.com.