OPTIONAL POETRY

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.