Human Cannonball

Emmanuel Zucchini Senior
The Human Cannonball
Died in Sarasota Monday
Eighty-four was all
From Italy in Thirty-four
John Ringling brought him here
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