In the Rafters

I used to jump from rafter to rafter without thinking

And slide down near forty foot drops

It felt great

I trusted those muscles

And the tools

And feared only the wind

I haven’t lost any of that

The opportunity to slide is just gone

There are fewer roofs

And more work to do in safe rooms

Like this

The ballast of the bags

And the feel of a mountain climber

Climbing flattened trees

Slicker shake than owl shit with mold and slime

A rope around the waste perhaps

But faith in the ladder

God knows why

I wasn’t crazy. I was risky

My buddy got up there holding onto an unsecured rafter

And held on with one hand

Holding a two hundred pound rafter with another

That’s plumb ass stupid and he’s lucky to be alive

He’s still up there doing it though

I guess that’s how I lost out