Jolt and a Parachute by Patricia Wellingham-Jones
My sky-diving friend
shows pictures
from her 75th birthday
celebration
She steps out of a small plane
into blue air
fourteen thousand feet high
Strapped to an expert
she cartwheels and spins
through rushing space
No helmet this first time
her blonde hair streams to Saturn
air pressure flings her cheeks
back to her ears
Goggles protect eyes
large and staring
Short-sleeved arms windmill
flung wide
A jolt and a parachute
separates one from other
drifts her to the ground
with only a wrenched leg
Later she writes
to the first President Bush
who tackles his 75th
with a publicized sky dive
and by some miracle of PR
he writes back
Hopes she’ll celebrate 80—
she did—with another leap into the sky
Wants to know
if she does it at 85—
she did
