L’appel du vide at Eighty

That fancy name for the urge to jump

from the top of the Empire State,

climb over the rail of the Golden Gate,

step off the rim of the Grand Canyon.

Some experts consider this intrusive thought,

also called the “high place phenomenon,”

an alarm signal gone wrong–our brains really

saying,  Back up or you may fall.

At eighty, I am standing on the edge of my life, 

and the call of the void, a thunderclap.

Although I’ve no urge to fling myself into the abyss,

it’s hard to resist my desire for a nap.