Can't xactly pretend this is poetry, but perhaps it is poetic... not too sure where it came from, either, but at least it makes a change! :)) xx

THE MOUNTAIN


Life went on and on in the valley, every day different but the same; the moments of each and every lifetime consumed with attention to detail and the transitory nature of Big Issues.

And the mountain stood imperious at the head, always commanding attention; always defying conquest. Timeless and unchanging, his unspoken word was like a law that went defiantly unheeded. One day I would stop, dare to climb him; seek to challenge his brooding authority that seemed to so belittle the reaches of my own life. One day I would conquer.

It was already mid-morning, the day I capitulated. His challenge no longer resistible, I left the dead to bury the dead, turned a deaf ear to the rumours surrounding my husband’s love life, ditched the shopping whilst choosing between soap powders. Fuelled by relentless frustration, I stopped for nothing and headed for the steepest, roughest ascent.

By the time I was diminished beside the mountain’s heavy flank and shadow, my hardness had softened. The moment my foot struck the first jarring note on the stony path upwards, warm tears permeated the hard rock of my soul. I felt heat in my breath and suddenly alive. The route, though rugged, meandered at times through bowls of lush grass and unknown flora. I heard slight scree-fall, disturbed by hinds on the ledges above. Occasional cloud cover served to comfort and to intensify the clarity of the immediate way ahead; and, when the fog dispersed, the views and perspectives that emerged at every twist and turn were like distant galaxies of alternative existence. Even at the top, when there was no way up but a climb instead over craggy, disconnected boulders, a sense of protection prevailed, provided by lower rings of nest-encrusted tree-life.

The summit was not an insurmountable pinnacle, gloriously unattainable, but, instead, a small plateau where it was easy to rest, breathe and learn of the mountain’s benevolence and wisdom. I made my descent by a wide and pleasant route, blessed by this mountain’s friendship; I was a “valley person” no longer: the mountain was now inside me.

We had both conquered and had both won. Our admiration and respect was mutual and complete.