Life’s Topography

How telling
That which is thought lost
In folds of the atlas

Easily forgotten traverses
Of forbidden goals
Remembered well
Where creases squeezed tight
Once shown clear one's youthful terrain
Those unmarked paths taken off the beaten track
Beset by thorns and poison
Rivaled only by the indomitable spirit of immortal dreams
Daring defiance once lived with abandon
A course memory left marked in relief
Now a deep wear-torn crevasse in memoriam

Came later goals
Lofty peaks
Longer treks
Rest stops remained postponed

Now…

Challenges lead ever higher
Pathfinder instincts give direction
Around and across tributaries of melting adolescence

How telling
The transition
The traverse
Into wiser routes
The gaze upon pinnacles
Even those one dared not attempt

How telling
These mountainous passages
Life's ever-changing topography
The rock-hard experience dispersing to scree
Tapering to a valley floor
Time's gradual erosion
Marking a well-spent expedition
Ready to venture outside one's neatly folded map

Unchartered imaginings remain eternal

First steps await

Again