Jonah M.

Age:13

The Swing (Giant Swing)

Heave, ho! He, ho! This is the sound I hear as I am raised higher and higher above the ground. The world I love and no drops away from me and I hang suspended in the air. I think of the last 20 minutes I spent holding other souls up the up the pole., the screams of fear or the cries of exhilaration as the catch is pulled and the person set free. I used to be one of those laborers, heaving on the rope with my fellows. That’s all over now, I shall fly.

“Stop!” I yell, I am raised no higher. “3, 2, 1, go!” I cry, pulling the catch. Nothing happens. Glancing up at it. I yank once more, nothing happens. Finally, at my third attempt, it comes. My stomach shrivels up while my mouth lets out a cry of terror and delight. When I come to grips with my situation, I begin to hear the soft sigh of the wind with every swoop back and forth. It almost sounds like the gentle sigh of the waves at dawn. My haunches will never forget my ride on the giants wing.