(excerpt from: Member of the Heard)
WHAT IT'S LIKE COMING TOGETHER
Tight rope walker, 10,000 feet up. Tight rope walker, falling, 5,000 feet down, onto another rope. Tight rope walker, sweating bullets. Tight rope walker, an elephant just walked onto your line with a baby on its back, a sleeping baby. The elephant has good balance, not that good, the baby is slipping off.
Tight rope walker, fast walker, catch the baby, now! Caught the baby, invite the elephant to leave...slowly, a little faster. Thank the elephant onto the platform. The elephant is brilliant. The line didn't break. Tight rope walker, gulping saliva, inching the line, the drooping line, holding a baby. The baby wakes up, with an appetite, a loud appetite.
Tight rope walker heads for the platform. The line gets longer, the line droops down, down further. Tight rope walker looks down for a second, happens to notice a small fire getting bigger, out of control. Tight rope walker thinks for a second--there is no such thing as something to fall back on.
Tight rope walker holds the baby. The fire shrinks.
Tight rope walker rocks the baby. The line turns into a wide street--familiar, gentle bound, no circus tents in flames for miles around until miles turn back into seconds and memories--elephants.