Backslide
And
The Blue Blue Montana Sky
Breathless I arrive
At last
Year upon year
Of walking dirt trails
Tripping on roots
Slipping in creeks
Popping of blisters
Higher
Switchbacks
Shortcuts
Scenic routes
Hunger
A pause for breath
Beneath the shade
Between two pine trees
Ephemeral eyes
Float away
Across the mountain peaks
Mountain peaks in waves
And layers of haze
Away across
To the farthest peaks that are blue
Capped in white
An ode to the ice that awaits…
A snap back
To the climb
Tall grass
Hot clearing
Surrounded by pines
And cliffs
Grey boulder to rest
A moment to eat
Sitting together feels lonely
Onward away
Downed trees
Washed out trails
Gobbs of gathering mud
Slipping on
I am just too tired
Left alone
With mocking calls of love
That echo in the creaking trees
A distance
A passing of the time
A loving hand
With loving eyes
Rays of sun slipping between trees
Warms my skin
Eyes closed face leaned up
Red beneath my eyelids
Pumping thumping chest
Air returns
Sight focuses
Bark and moss and bugs
Sap and rocks and pine needles
Higher
Up fields of big rocks and boulders
Past cute fat little creatures
Living in rocks and chirping
Higher and colder
Meadows sparse with short patches of grass
Soft moss in billions of shades
And tiny little flowers
Blue with teeny tiny round petals
And purples and pinks
Round and pointed petals
Wild roses and buttercups and sweet dainty bells
An avalanche
Buried alive in wildflowers
Wildflowers know all the secrets
Babbling brooks and springs
Higher
The white moon looks larger
Slightly translucent in the
Blue
Blue
Montana sky
Higher and colder
Up cliffs with rocks
And sliding shale
Thanking each hearty twisted little tree or shrub
Scattered on the way
For their deep and sturdy roots
Each step I take a caution
Maintain the integrity of shifting rocks
Pockets full of pretty rocks my friends
Higher
Boldly straight up the ice and snow
Lean into the mountain
Kick and kick and kick each toe
Chip away the hardened snow
A place to step
A place to slip
Footholds made by those who came before
Another place to step
Another place to slip
The ice is sharp and painfully cold
Against my palm
And fingers digging for a hold
For years and years I shake and tremble
Frozen here from time to time
Memory to memory
Always I am up again
Up and up an up
Breathless
And here at last
The peak
The top
The magnificent view
The last step
I set down my pack
Just beneath the peak
I feel so light so free as I adjust
The last few steps up
My hand comes up from the ground
My back straightens up to take in the sight
An aching cold breeze
I am set off balance
And tip headfirst and backward
Blown completely off my feet
And as I slide upon my back
Day and night cycle by
And in my brokenness
I settle into a strange peace
I weep upon the stars and moon
I weep upon the blinding sun in the
Blue
Blue
Montana Sky
-CKC
