Advice to a young climber
If one rocks onto the balls of one’s feet, and hunkers down
low,
it is possible to reduce the full electrical shock of a lightning
strike.
It is, however, entirely dependent on the force of that
strike
and the strength of one’s heart to survive.
Certain knowledge to read the signs of the hills is needed
by any wary climber,
who is mindful of their health, to spot the threat of a
storm:
the banking of cumulonimbus above the crest should indicate
it is time to return,to take the downward path,
to avoid the trees, the caves, the mines,
as those boughs and thresholds can shatter,
splintering to three million pieces about one’s head.
So keep the mass of mountain above oneself,
watch the skies and the rise of the peaks
and head home, head home, head home.
I am there - climbing!
ReplyDeletegood stuff!
ReplyDeleteGreat, strong ending. The last three lines gather so much steam.
ReplyDeleteesp like 'keep the mass of mountain above oneself', and the power of the last line
ReplyDelete