I am a fearless explorer......

I am a fearless explorer.

Brave and alone,
I cast my gaze
at the cruel mountain
before me.

The mountain is my enemy.

Ever changing,
this mountain has won many battles.
Changing faces,
changing shape,
changing color,
it is a moving target,
it has a life of its own,
and it keeps one guessing.

For endless hours
I struggle valiantly...
Through weary days
I forge ahead,
inch by inch,
progress almost imperceptible.

And then...
Just as I have reached the summit
Just as I am about to declare victory
Just as I begin to raise my fists in the air
And prepare to accept the adulation of those few
Who understand the magnitude of my accomplishment...
I catch a glimpse
Out of the corner of my eye
Of yet another peak...

Where did it come from?
Was it there yesterday??!

I do not know.
And it does not matter.

I gamely accept this new peak
As the inevitable course of nature.

For I have seen this pattern before.

But I am nearly exhausted
from the struggle that has brought me
to this point in the battle.

Just as I begin to get discouraged,
I hear the voices of my family,
exhorting me, calling to me,
as if they know my temptation
to lie down and give up...

"I can't find any clean socks!"
"Have you seen my soccer uniform?"
"Are there any towels anywhere?"

And somehow I find the strength
to get up one more time,
to set my face toward the mountain,
and to throw in another load...