Just Climb

from the edge of the precipice
of all my known limits
    up close this ground is far to me
as a little small bit
among little small bits

from great distances
    my shelf feels so unreal to me
    when i peak my eyes over
as i frequently see nothing

from a darkness
she always calls to me
    "just climb"

Author's Note

Reviews

[R.E. Ray]

It is what we do as human... climb. I think it's something about our desire to get as close to heaven (or whatever the individual calls it), above the danger, pain and mundanities of daily life. Even at risk of falling, perhaps looking down occasionally, we still claw our way skyward, out of the darkness. Another thought-provoking work.

[Davidgeo]

How familiar are you with the "tower of babel" mythology? It kind of overlaps with the Icarus god myth as well... anyway... the ending always goes something like this - you either took a shortcut and burned yourself or you built something so tall that when it got to heaven it no longer recognized it's own foundations. Or, let's take the phrase "too big to fail" and reverse it --- "so big it will inevitably fail". Or something like that... I kinda forgot what I was getting at just now. My apologies.

[R.E. Ray]

I'm not familiar. I attended public school. Enough said? So, I thank you for the additional information. I'll need to digest it a bit longer.

[H L Rose]

While reading this I can so clearly imagine peering over a cliff, and I think metaphorically is connects really well both physically and mentally.

Heights have always given me anxiety, but at the same time I can’t help but climb higher.

I liked reading it!

[Davidgeo]

We're not afraid of heights we're just afraid of falling. Back in my military days I had to keep telling myself that whenever I had to jump or repel. I no longer have a problem with heights but I try and make it a point to look down only when absolutely necessary... that s**t can give you vertigo if do it too much.

[H L Rose]

Oh that’s a good point, and a good thing to keep in mind for the next time I’m hiking or something, in a high place.
I thought about going into the military once, but decided I was too much of baby and didn’t feel like changing that.

[Leanu]

This poem reminds me of that’s comforting sense I get from remembering that a big challenge to me is a small one zoomed out and that as long as you keep climbing, you can never “summit” at a failure point.

[KWP]

ahh nice ... there's a saying in Budo 'keep going' this reminded me of that :)

simple words the can be etched into one's soul - I like it

how goes it?

[Davidgeo]

Thanks.

It goes well. How goes it with you?

[KWP]

yaaa ... Mumbai is great :) om gosh I have sensory overload !!! Have you seen some pics?

[Davidgeo]

Only a few... on the bookface there be so many. When you finishing collating I'm down to see the greatest hits. I envy your travel so very much. Never get into the whole extreme mountain climbing thing... you'll end up dozens of thousands of duckets on long and painful trips to the most remote parts of Alaska. It's totally worth it.

[Davidgeo]

(I did not proof read that comment) at all...

[KWP]

didn't seem to need any proof reading that comment ... I'd love to go to Alaska for a winter ... you know just to catch up on sleep and all :)