#high diving

Recent Acquisition - Ephemera Collection

The Helkvists. One woman, one man; arriving at a giddy height. These wonderful high divers are soon enveloped in flames and from the pinnacle of their structure dive through the air wrapped in flames into the tank. Carl Helvist took the diving honors at the Olympic Games, Sweden.

August in the Water / Mizu no naka no hachigatsu (1995, Gakuryū Ishii as Sogo Ishii)

水の中の八月　（石井 聰亙）

It is very quiet, up here against the rock With bits of spiderwebs. The city so far away. Sprawled across the globe in a hundred nests.

Grasp at crevices, pull up, slowly (Trembling fingers refuse to let go) Bring feet to next hole. One step higher.

Look up, breathe, talk to self, Quiet litany, heightened awareness Of any move leading to a perilous fall.

Then with a sudden loosening of muscles, Of arms like rubber bands, stretching beyond breaking point, Drop downwards into space, into a comet

Hurtling in a straight line through whipping air That then slams into its own rope flipping Upside-down like a tumbling ragdoll -

Face sewn in a fixed mask, body tumbling in the air Turning like a feather, jerk To a stop in the middle of the world - Held by a rope.