Flight Response
Zoe Mitchell
I’m trying to make friends. She says, ‘Did
you know, research shows that vertigo
is your whole body flinching at the notion
that you might jump this time, that some part
of your heart can’t resist the urge to fly?’
I hesitate to reply. I didn’t know that. I am
afraid of heights and all of it makes sense
to me but I have square pegged my way
through enough failed introductions to see
any answer as a high-vaulted risk.
She lowers her pint and her voice as she adds,
‘Have you ever had that feeling in a car
when you’re going fast on a roundabout
and you could just open the passenger door,
lean out and fling yourself into orbit?’
