The skydive

The skydive

A story is told of a nurse long ago.
Who decided she was going to give anything a go.
For so long she had hidden her light under a bushel.
“Give me time,” she said “and I’ll make it official.”

“I’ll jump out of an aeroplane,” she said with a smile.
“Give me an inch and I’ll take a mile.”
We all said well done. Now don’t you blow it.
You must be mad. We could never do it.

And do it she would. No one could deny.
With an air of confidence, she knew she’d comply.
It was now or never, that much was true.
Had she broken off, more than she could chew?

On the day she was nervous, but excited with glee.
Jump she would and be home for tea.
Her friends were there, cheering her on
Not knowing whether things would ever go wrong.

Well, the great hour came. With jumpsuit she was ready.
Raring to go, her nerves they were steady.
No backing out now, we said with a smile
We gave you an inch, you took a mile.

With crossed fingers and toes, her jump would go ahead.
We waited and waited, was it time yet for bed?
The moment came; there was time to pull out.
“No chance,” she said, “I’m positively devout.”

Deep breaths we told her. Hugs all around.
She was ready to jump. Her bravery profound.
We waved her off, said a last goodbye.
Hoped that things wouldn’t go awry.

Like sardines they sat, ready to fly.
Then off they went, up high in the sky.
In the end she jumped with crazy mad Mike.
His name suited him well. They were very much alike.

We said make sure you don’t land in a ditch.
He promised he’d ensure there wasn’t a hitch.
With a wry smile he told us to have some faith.
Didn’t we know, he was a sky diving ace.

She took the reins and steered the chute.
“Go on” he said, “but stay on route.”
Though she meandered well off course.
We thought she might end up north in Hawes.

While high in the sky there were screams of delight.
No longer would she ever be afraid of heights.
We hugged her and said we were ever so proud.
Now she would stand out in a very big crowd.

We said all her fears should have instantly vanished.
She’d had a great time. She was absolutely famished.
Now all that was left was to say farewell.
Pick up her certificate and run like hell.

We said that nothing should ever faze her for sure.
And that life would never be the same any more.
Because there is something that we all know.
If you can jump out of a plane, you can give anything a go.

We are so very proud of you Lindsey, you can be certain.
More courageous than you will ever know.
Life they say is ready for the taking.
Your courage we said… undeniably breathtaking. 🪂

Your friend
Catherine