The Climber Before the Mountain

be-

fore the climber makes

his arms praise god’s

craggy face

 

breathes broken soils

sandy shores and fertile sods

grip and crack the stony earth

 

escape our lives’ most holy dearth

of height and man’s measure of worth

 

to stand and face time’s dark

and monolithic wide unknown

to turn and lay your bare white back

the endless black and seeds unsown

 

escape our lives’ most holy dearth

or grasp anachronistic worth

 

and finds his

to heave up

a life to

fill with love

 

with firmest heart

brain’s poisoned dart

to fall upon the rock and heave

and breathe and breathe

and breathe and breathe