how to climb a mountain
Maya Stein
Make no mistake. This will be an exercise in staying vertical.
Yes, there will be a view, later, a wide swath of open sky,
but in the meantime: tree and stone. If you're lucky, a hawk will
coast overhead, scanning the forest floor. If you're lucky,
a set of wildflowers will keep you cheerful. Mostly, though,
a steady sweat, your heart fluttering indelicately, a solid ache
perforating your calves. This is called work, what you
will come to know, eventually and simply, as movement,
as all the evidence you need to make your way.
Forget where you were. That story is no longer true.
Level your gaze to the trail you're on,
and even the dark won't stop you.
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Amen
ReplyDeleteSo, so good.
ReplyDeleteAh, the real work of realizing that our stories are no longer true. Never were. Can't be.
ReplyDeleteThank you Craigers, Wilsonian, Barry.
ReplyDeleteBarry,
A painful realization that some people never have.... But pain or not, so necessary....
Oh yes, how true a reminder! Recollecting later in tranquillity, we remember the scant epiphanies, forget the hard slog. But the gruelling, sometimes tedious work (when we have no thoughts except for summoning the will just to carry on) is perhaps the most real thing - and the building block which allows the radiant moment of illumination?
ReplyDeleteSW,
ReplyDeleteYes, I think you may have it right.... Thanks for making me ponder a little more.
:)
ReplyDeletePerfectly timed posting...I just hiked Half Dome in Yosemite on Saturday...this poem rings true!
Melissa,
ReplyDeleteExcellent! I am envious. :)
I am actually a Californian by birth (San Francisco) and rearing, and I remember Half Dome well. I've been transplanted and mid-westernized for quite some time now though. :)
Thanks, as always, for stopping by!