I knew
When I saw the flash
out of the corner of my eye
I knew
When I felt the rush of air
Pass by my side
I knew
When I heard the sound
That explosive vibration
I knew
So young, such pain
So peaceful now
I knew
It was not
A leap of faith
You took
That fateful day
I am a scientist by trade and artist by soul. My creative outlet used to be dancing but due to injuries and age, I must now find another path. I am hoping my writing, poetry and photography can be this new path.
Awards: While I am grateful and honored for the numerous nominations, I don’t have time to respond to them with the attention they deserve, so for the most part, I am an award free blog.
All photographs and words are mine unless otherwise credited.
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Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author/owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Christy Draper with appropriate and specific direction to the original content on Dancing Echoes.
Dancing Echoes 
July 29, 2015 at 8:45 am
Oh, no, Christy. I hope this is vivid poetic license and not a tragic, horrible and forever etched memory.
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July 29, 2015 at 9:08 am
‘Fraid not. I had a jumper land 10 feet from me in 1999. It was in Houston at a conference in one of those atrium hotels that shall remain unnamed. He was very young, just a teenager and homeless. He managed to take the elevator to the 22nd floor -a friend of mine was actually on the same elevator and it messed with his head big time when he found out. The kid landed to my side but I knew what is was immediately. I didn’t want to look but could not help it and I found my imagination was much worse than the visual reality as he seemed surprisingly peaceful but I t is a sound that I will never forget. I was pretty much a basket case that night and the rest of the trip. I think about that young man a lot and how horrible his life must have been to end it so tragically that way.
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July 29, 2015 at 9:19 am
That’s a sad and awful lesson about life, Christy, but you heard it and felt it and saw it and appear to have absorbed it the best you could have. Poor young man, indeed.
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July 29, 2015 at 10:54 am
How so tragic. Your powerfully heartfelt words brought deep sadness to me. I do hope that young man is at rest now.
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July 29, 2015 at 12:10 pm
Me too. I will forever wonder if a single act of kindness could have changed his destiny.
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July 29, 2015 at 12:46 pm
Sometimes writing about a harrowing experience can help healing. While we have little control over what happens, we have much control over how we share our reactions to it. Poets in the 19-th century often (and counterproductively) declaimed at length about how they felt. A clear and compassionate description of what led to one’s feelings is vastly more effective. Your poem is a splendid example. I honestly cannot remember when, if ever, I saw blank verse that was so moving.
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July 29, 2015 at 1:18 pm
Wow, thank you. Is is indeed my attempt to release the horror but not forget the young man.
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July 29, 2015 at 4:44 pm
Extraordinarily vivid and poignant words.
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July 29, 2015 at 5:09 pm
Powerful and poignant… thank you for baring your soul. This is truly how we move others in the world isn’t it. You did it with grace.
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July 29, 2015 at 5:10 pm
Thank you.
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July 29, 2015 at 5:11 pm
Thank you for the kind words.
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July 30, 2015 at 2:53 am
so terribly tragic …. if only someone had had the right words, the right act of kindness to stop it …
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July 30, 2015 at 5:13 am
Exactly Jen.
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