Middle of the Rocky Mountains, Western Canada
photo by Jon Merk
The eyes rise up to see the beauty,
bathe the soul in wonder, but the feet -
the feet know what to do.
They just keep walking:
one step, another step,
the cliff-side steep,
the trail roughshod,
chest tight from not enough air,
feet slip-sliding on the stones,
feet slip-sliding on the stones,
pain, agony, wonder,
no other way to get there -
no easy path.
Occasionally there will be
a jutting branch to grasp
to stop from sliding back,
plunging over.
Catch your breath -
that was close!
Whew! Still alive.
The mountains call.
We answer.
Catch your breath -
that was close!
Whew! Still alive.
The mountains call.
We answer.
Resting on the precipice,
shoes off to ease the pain,
the unthinkable:
one boot topples over, end over end,
into the forest far below.
Damn!
The other may as well go too.
Barefoot, we rise and walk again.
There is no other way to get there,
one footstep at a time,
eyes raised in wonder
to the peaks.
for Hannah's Transforming Friday with nature's wonders prompt at Real Toads: to write about a mountain. Do check the other links, there are some fantastic responses to this prompt, as there always are, at Toads!
Oh my goodness!! Sherry! Did that really happen?!
ReplyDeleteI love your two line bridge and how very true it is...they DO call and when we can answer...what a gift it is...to us and to her too, I think.
Thank you SO much for writing today! ♥
My mountain is sort of the mountainous path of life and how the only way to "get there" is one foot after the other....I happen to be reading a book about a woman who walked the entirety of the West Pacific Trail - 1100 miles - and she was not a trained hiker - she lost HER shoe on a summit and tossed the other shoe after it........it reminded me of how painful the path can sometimes be, yet no choice but to keep putting one foot in front of the other!
ReplyDeleteAnd thank God for the beautiful scenery!
DeleteAnd when we no longer have shoes we go on anyway .... Brilliant! And I enjoy the gasp/laugh in the middle, watching the boot fall then going on without waiting for the other boot to fall ever again. A side-note: I walk barefoot inside, but because of where I live rarely walk barefoot outside at all except at the ocean ...
ReplyDeleteThis is such great metaphor for life. Wonderful, Sherry
ReplyDeleteYes, all journeys are accomplished one step at a time. Wise words, Wise Woman!
ReplyDeleteno easy path...sigh
ReplyDeleteFabulous, Sherry.
ReplyDeleteMany times the return is worse, we go there and understand we have to go back. Barefoot.
ReplyDeletemountains are conquered one step at a time...and i agree with bjorn...having to leave is like leaving a friend...
ReplyDeleteI believe it, Sherry. They have their appeal, "The mountains call. We answer," is just built into us I am thinking.
ReplyDeleteBTW, in 1625, in Chapter 12 of the Essays of Francis Bacon said, "If the hill will not come to Mahomet, Mahomet will go to the hill." (Wikipedia)
..
Barefoot, we rise and walk again.
ReplyDeleteThere is no other way to get there..
I loved this, Sherry.
A wonderful write Sherry!!! And isn't it the way it goes, one step at a time, even barefoot.
ReplyDeletehalfway through I was wondering, since feet know so much (and they do) is that why the mind binds them in shoes? and then - off go the boots! loved this ~
ReplyDeletethere are times when barefoot is the better opition...the walk of life can be tricky at times...important to keep walking...
ReplyDeleteSherry, this speaks to me of the mountains I have climbed, emotionally and spiritually, over the past few years. So beautiful
ReplyDeleteSherry, I thought this was going to be all about the reward of the wonderful view at the end. Loved your ending even better than what I thought was coming. Lovely writing, my friend.
ReplyDelete