I’ve always preferred to dance along the edges. I look down rocks to water, or more rocks. Sometimes there are crashing waves below me. Once manta rays, dark and massive, like underwater storm clouds. That precipice was many more feet higher than the sandstone ledge from which I jumped into an oasis pool some deserts ago. The rocky cliffs are especially green up north, the water especially indigo. I like the edges. I like to see the bottom and greet my fear. I jumped into the St Lawrence River once, plunging deep into the froth with my shoes on.

I also play in broader lands, of course. I twirl and dance with abandon in wide swaths of green, or dusts of colorful browns. I lean in loaf in the havens of animals. Some in open spaces are less watchful than one might expect. I can get that way, feeling comfortable. That’s when I go find an edge to toe right up against.

I once startled a skunk who didn’t spray me.

I’ve shared space with buffalo at breakfast.

I snuck up on a deer who didn’t run.

I talked to turkeys who were afraid to cross the path in front of me.

I’ve greeted elk who sang good morning.

I got nibbled by a caterpillar.

I watched a gopher build their nest from two feet away. For hours.

I head to the cliffs when I need a strong reminder. I usually pull back before I do anything dumb. Everywhere else feels so safe, almost boring in its calm.

Until it isn’t.

Caught unawares, I will run. I barrel straight for the cliffs, full gallop. I won’t stop til I get there, suddenly skidding over rocks as I spin my arms wildly.

If I can keep from falling, I’ll look back toward that place that used to seem so safe. I’ll look and wonder at the taking for granted I’ve done. I’ll admire the precision with which a fearsome blow has just been dealt, all of my guards down.

On the cliff I know how to protect myself, and so the game is fun. It’s the earthquakes, the sinkholes, the shift of solid land, that surprises me. The fault lines I never wanted to toe up against. I am interested in broad foundations. I want to stay on solid ground.