The Skydiver Poem by Jack Worthington

Long ago but just yesterday I knew a man who flew
In a town so far away where the nights became the day
The sun shone so bright on this city made of clay
Our dreams were big, the day long, and the city new.

Time was unknown to us but always there
As seconds clicked to minutes and hours to years
The sun, once so bright, left us, revealing only fears
All decays over time, leaving little but despair.

The man who flew knows none of what transpired
He left us when the sun was bright at high noon
Knowing not despair or fear, he reached for something higher
Although his chute collapsed, his life was in its June.

Weep not for the man who flew but those still around
Having not known fear, nor decay, nor what became of his city
He belonged to the sun above, and we are on the ground
A well lived life is never short, and preferable to pity.