Climbers' Journal.

I from the bottom looked up Beyond the cloudless dream of sky And with my empty Decided climbing this mountain was worth the try What can a man lose going up: Some pounds of unwanted flesh Left in the ruins of communication Some puffs of breath Making the lung jubilant against the forecast Of life's cliff falls, or impending death. What we lose does not matter I have learned to let go When the heart starts to sputter, What a man counts is what is gained Climbing against jagged edge Of mountain peaks, and rugged terrains. Starting fresh The beginning is the easy part If you got the love Life has got the heart. No fancy ropes and special gears My father left me no memory Of things to callous trust and brine my tears I am only skin and bone Wrapping a rugged determine soul And so I climb With muscled brains and stamina Never looking back For village yearnings or smothered pain I made my own track To the summit sunlit and cold And then there in that world alone Look down from the desolation of the peak Saw what I left behind, but could not speak I had to climb this flesh of stone Just so I could look down And cry For all the beauty I left below For all the joy I left behind.