Ticket to Fear

Our eyes meet
She looks scared
Or, maybe I'm just projecting.
I smile encouragingly- read, lamely.

I'd be afraid
Suspended 4 stories above the ground
On a rope course
With only a harness to keep me from falling.

She makes it across
And keeps going
The next challenge looks easier
She's 9, what does she know about fear.

Below her I see a couple,
The woman goes first
And turns around as if to show her reluctant man
See, it's not so bad.

This is an illusion of danger
I'm sure if someone were to fall
They'd have to close the ride
And find out what went wrong.
That person, a statistic.

I'm sure they have you sign a waiver
But really, it's a rope course
With a harness
What's the danger?

Where's the thrill
In looking down
And seeing the ground way below you
As you try not to stumble.

As if
There's not enough terror
In the world
That you have to go out and create it.

As if
There's not enough death already
In the world
That you have to go out and greet it.

I never liked
Amusement parks
They don't amuse me.
I'd rather stay on solid ground.

You want to feel fear?
Imagine being in the burning towers
As they collapsed around you,
Or you jumped to your death to escape the flames.

Or being in the first, second plane
At the moment you realized
You would never again
Touch the ground.

You seek thrill
But this is a glass soundproof shatterproof bulletproof box
As the world falls down
Around you.

You won't be touched by pain
Here.
You won't see tragedy
Here.

As you follow the rope course
Your heart pounding blood
Taste of fear in your mouth
There are people running for their lives from a pressure cooker explosion.

They won't call it terror,
No, let's not jump to conclusions
It could be anything
Right, anyone could accidentally leave a pressure cooker here- with a cell phone detonator.

You make it safely to the ground
And take that tiny bit of fear home with you
Thrill-seekers, they are called.
Put your fear on the mantelpiece for all to see.

You walk across a rope course
With a harness
And no real danger of ever actually
touching the ground.

Real terror- you won't experience that
In your lifetime
So we created it for you.
Buy your tickets here!