Le pont de diable

I stood at the parapet as though a preacher reading a sermon, Cool, clear and glistening, the lake called enticing me in, I turned my face to the sun, The heat burnt red hot through my closed eye lids, Childrens laughter danced in the air below.

My quickening heart beat, Relentless sun skewering my skin, The stone blistered my feet, How much longer could I stand there?

The water beckoned, glinting in the light, My body tautened, My muscles tensed, Blood rushed to my head, My mind became clouded Then...

Without a thought or care, I felt my body leap and arch in the shimmering air, The breeze whipped around my head,

The seconds seemed like an age , Water shattered, enveloping my burning body, I was dragged down by the devil himself.

My head broke through the surface like a bud through the earth, I gasped like a maiden aunt at a dirty joke, The icy water cleared my befuddled brain, My temporarily tenuous grip on reality returned.