The Great Fall

He was falling.
In a moment, he had slipped.
Only before, he had been fine.
He had been walking with everyone else.
The path was clear.
They all knew the chasm was coming,
But they would walk it together...
They knew there was a narrow bridge.
But they would all walk it together,
And they would be fine.

He wandered for only a moment...
He wanted to see what was off the path.
He left the others walking. He would return later.
They were still walking together.
They would be fine.

The path was no longer clear.
He saw only light and shadow.
Thick growth surrounded.
He neither saw them, nor heard them.
That IS what he wanted.
They would be fine.

But in a moment, he had slipped.
The chasm opened up in front of him in the blink of an eye...
And in that moment, he had slipped.
He was falling.

He had slipped away from them.
He had slipped away from their path.
He had slipped out of time itself.
Seconds now passed as months before him.
From the great chasm's mouth, he could see the bridge...
So far away.

They were crossing...together,
And he wished he were with them.
But he had slipped...

From the bridge, one had seen him
And in the next month, she cried "Grab Hold!"
It took a week for his arm to find rockface,
And hours for his fingers to take hold.
When he finally stopped, it was painful.
His body collided with rock.

He hung there, dangling.
The abyss still threatening to swallow him whole.

Time returned.
What would he do now?
What could he do next?
"Climb!", he heard in the distance.
Climb, he thought to himself.

His path was now only upwards.
His path was now only the climb.
In time, he would return to the others,
But for now, they walked as he climbed.
They were still walking together.
And they would be fine.

His journey was now only upwards.
And he would be fine as well.