Start by holding onto the mailbox,
and just sit there, pedaling back and forth.
Once you’ve centered yourself, let go
and ride down the street, like walking.
Just sitting, pedaling back and forth,
you won’t get anywhere. You float.
To ride down the street is like walking,
one foot falling, and then the other.
You won’t get anywhere. Float,
learn space between you and the road:
one foot falling, then the other.
Catch up with yourself.
Learn the space between you and the road:
If you’re falling, just step off.
Catch up with yourself,
then fall again. Grab hold of nothing.
You’re falling, just step off.
Weight should be evenly below you.
Grab hold of nothing. Fall again.
Pedal madly to survive.
Weight should be evenly below you.
Once you’ve centered yourself, let go
and pedal madly. You’ll survive.
Start by holding onto the mailbox.
Meg Eden’s work has been published in various magazines, including B O D Y, Drunken Boat, Mudfish, and Rock & Sling. Her work received second place in the 2014 Ian MacMillan Fiction contest. Her collections include Your Son (The Florence Kahn Memorial Award), Rotary Phones and Facebook (Dancing Girl Press) and The Girl Who Came Back (Red Bird Chapbooks). She teaches at the University of Maryland.