Artists - Stephanie Marotta
My poem is inspired by the Austrian-born French tailor Franz Reichelt. Reichelt was among a group of “birdmen” who invented parachute-suits designed to enable men to essentially fly. Reichelt secured permission from the French police to test his invention with dummies from the Eiffel Tower in 1912. However, Reichelt surprised friends and onlookers by putting on the suit himself. Though the crowd tried to dissuade him, Reichelt had full confidence in his design and could not be deterred. He jumped, the parachute failed to deploy, and Reichelt’s experiment resulted in his accidental death. Footage of the event can be found on YouTube.
The Flying Tailor’s Pantoum
Franz Reichelt’s fatal Eiffel Tower jump, February 1912
Sixty meters separates the living from the end.
The last of the birdmen prepares for flight,
feet perched on the tower’s rail,
arms spread wide like Icarus.
The last of the birdmen prepares for flight.
The cold air betrays his quick breaths.
Arms spread wide like Icarus,
under the sun, across the Seine.
The cold air betrays his quick breaths.
He bids his friends à bientôt.
Under the sun, across the Seine,
cloaked in twenty pounds of silken wings.
He bids his friends à bientôt.
The rigid ground eager to rip at the seam.
Cloaked in twenty pounds of silken wings
he stares long into the crowd below.
The rigid ground eager to rip at the seam.
A sacrificial page gives flight to his dream.
He stares long into the crowd below.
There is no grand dive, no swift leap.
A sacrificial page gives flight to his dream.
He empties his lungs, steps off, and sinks.
There is no grand dive, no swift leap.
Five seconds separates the living from the end.
My poem is inspired by the Austrian-born French tailor Franz Reichelt. Reichelt was among a group of “birdmen” who invented parachute-suits designed to enable men to essentially fly. Reichelt secured permission from the French police to test his invention with dummies from the Eiffel Tower in 1912. However, Reichelt surprised friends and onlookers by putting on the suit himself. Though the crowd tried to dissuade him, Reichelt had full confidence in his design and could not be deterred. He jumped, the parachute failed to deploy, and Reichelt’s experiment resulted in his accidental death. Footage of the event can be found on YouTube.
The Flying Tailor’s Pantoum
Franz Reichelt’s fatal Eiffel Tower jump, February 1912
Sixty meters separates the living from the end.
The last of the birdmen prepares for flight,
feet perched on the tower’s rail,
arms spread wide like Icarus.
The last of the birdmen prepares for flight.
The cold air betrays his quick breaths.
Arms spread wide like Icarus,
under the sun, across the Seine.
The cold air betrays his quick breaths.
He bids his friends à bientôt.
Under the sun, across the Seine,
cloaked in twenty pounds of silken wings.
He bids his friends à bientôt.
The rigid ground eager to rip at the seam.
Cloaked in twenty pounds of silken wings
he stares long into the crowd below.
The rigid ground eager to rip at the seam.
A sacrificial page gives flight to his dream.
He stares long into the crowd below.
There is no grand dive, no swift leap.
A sacrificial page gives flight to his dream.
He empties his lungs, steps off, and sinks.
There is no grand dive, no swift leap.
Five seconds separates the living from the end.
Stephanie Marotta
Mixed Media
Measures approx. 3' and base approx. 12" square.
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