Above, there was a grass-stained parachutehanging in the air. Long ago, it had been a beautiful blue. Now it wastattered and worn, like a child's play shirt. Below dangled two smallfeet, both shoes untied. Below the mud-stained Keds, an ancient churchsteeple reached toward the sky. A cemetery next door held wilted flowersscattered among the graves. Slowly, a brown mutt limped over the dyingtulips. As the wounded Lab headed toward the street, an elderly coupleattempted to complete a morning jog. Both wore faded green windbreakers,and moved slower than the decrepit dog. Swirling yellow, dead grasssuddenly obstructed the view. A lone ant crawled beneath a fallen leafand was gone forever when the truth hit me. I had fallen, too.