Learning to ski

you try to get level
keep things balanced
but with each awkward shift of weight
you slip slide and fall
sometimes like a swan
but with not near as much grace.
other times, like a janga game
you tip and time slows
you manage somehow to crumple
and fly backwards
with the speed of an overstretched bungee-
you snap so your spine touches the cold earth.
Your arms and legs
that which previously held you up-
assist you no more
and you lay there thinking of recovering.
Like all other things of catastrophe
getting up is the only thing to do.
that and keep things level
get things balanced
and move on