Girolamo Zini Poem by Michelle Castleberry
Age: 20 Nationality/Place of Origin: Istria, Trieste Description: Rope-walker Cause of Death: Died of atlanto-axial disclocation (broken neck)
The secret to balance is to always fall up— Even in training, I rarely felt the net on my back. I pointed my nose away from the hills, seeing what I needed to see through the soles of my bare feet. The secret to my trade is to only desire the path the rope stretches in front of you. So I followed it every day, the crowd’s roar making tidal noise. I never cared until I heard Elena’s voice in the throng below. For one second, my feet forgot their work. My eyes found her face, and took the rest of me falling.
Although a resident of northeast Georgia, Michelle Castleberry enjoys visiting Philadelphia whenever possible. She is working on a series of poems based on the Hyrtl Skull Collection from the Mütter Museum. Her first book is Dissecting the Angel and Other Poems.
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