Human Cannonball

Emmanuel Zacchini Senior
The Human Cannonball
Died in Sarasota Monday
Eighty-four was all

From Italy in thirty-four
John Ringling brought him here
A broken neck in fifty-one
Ended his career

But in those years in between
Seventeen in all
Few flew as fast or as far
As the Cannonball

Fifty-eight yards and one foot
Was the distance that he went
Fifty-four miles in an hour
The speed that he was sent

Two of his brothers and two daughters
Nine grandchildren in all
And the one great-grandchild
Survive the Cannonball

He died on Monday where he lived
It happens to us all
Shot through the air expecting nets
A flight and then a fall

Emmanuel Zacchini Senior
The Human Cannonball