NEAR-DEAF EXPERIENCE

standing on a bridge in nepal
a great big sky above me
frothy rapids scrubbing the smooth rocks clean fifty feet below me
teetering on the edge
backpack throwing me off balance
as the mule flings itself at me...
1991
trekking in the himalaya
the difficult bit is over
crossing the thorong la pass at 17,000 feet
in driving snow
and slippery doc martens with no grip on the bastards
we come down the other side
hands and feet all swollen from the altitude
election fever in the air
red n blue party symbols daubed
on the walls of stone villages
first all-party elections in nepalese history
me and my buddies are about to cross a rickety wooden bridge
across a steep river gorge
when we see a mule-driver and his train
heading the opposite way
on t'other side of bridge
mule-driver blows his whistle to stop his beasts of burden
gareth and walter make their way across
as i follow the first mule charges at me
heavy bags of grain swinging from its sides
the bridge is so narrow that i have nowhere to go
i move left but there's no rail
my heels teeter on the edge
my backpack pulls me outwards and over the precupice
i cling to one of the mule's grain bags
and think my time has come
if i can think at all
somehow i keep my balance
then throw myself to the ground
just miss being trampled underfoot
suddenly the mule has gone
and i'm still on the bridge
picking myself up
bemused and shaking
but alive
and left to fight another day...