The fear of heights
As a little boy
I was afraid of heights
They laughed at me
When I got panicky on the merry-go-round
Or in an unfinished tower block
Wouldn’t jump down the lift shaft
From the fourth floor
So when the dense web of a scaffolding
Surrounded our house
Scarred stiff
I put my foot on a plaster-spangled plank
Right behind the edge
Of our balcony
And clinging to the cold pipes
Rough from the splashed concrete
Climbed down from the seventh floor
Onto the green handkerchief of grass
Next morning
I strode up to the most beautiful girl in the class
And kissed her on the mouth