A cool cloudy morning, leniency after the weekend’s heat. A dog throws itself down the ravine in pursuit of a ball, the neighbor unleashes a cascade of glass bottles getting ready to pack up the house. All day in the mountains yesterday, sweat, scree, snow. Aching today, a reminder, the summit hard-earned, but elation tempering the bite of elevation, and descent always less benign than we thought.
Monday morning mountain comedown with sunburnt lips and aching legs in comparison to the alpine the city is mundane with its colorless clouds and effortless grades it all seemed so clear the higher I climbed even the goat trails the bushwacking of trees the unstable scree slopes I only know how to enjoy what it seems I’ve earned even last night I saw a glacier field approaching in my dream until turning back I woke–
OPTIONAL POETRY 