Helmet clad. Sleek, black equestrian machinery as one with man. In a moment the certainty of loss. My gaze reclines, a portent of our divorce. Then motion without time. A destination reached without travel. Curiously nestled in the hold of my opponent. Foetal position. In complete defiance of gravity, I contemplate the absurdity of my situation. At first only vaguely aware of it, but soon a fountain of pain explodes, within the box of my ribs. The breath of my life escapes me, horizon quickly narrows. What hypnotic, all-consuming pain! My faith wavers. Fears of unrealised hopes. Fall from grace... at last. In the horror of my solitude I scream. With every breath a scream, and in the fringe of my insanity my screaming frightens me. But as the curtain draws all who once were me are gone. It was then as it always had been. [14-XII-98]