Those Who Climb Mountains

Those who climb mountains
	live forever
	unless they fall.
They only drink icicle drip
	and chew thorns.
Their soles are like thin mattresses
	that are well used.

They breathe tinted air,
	unfiltered.
Over and over again
	the hill is calling.
No obstacle is too long.
They are blind
	except by instinct.

A raptor circles, catching a thermal.
The climber would mount one
	and ride higher
	if he could.
A rock falls from its place
	and like a seesaw 
	lifts the hikers.

Always there is imagination.
Always there is a goal.
Sky is no limitation.
Her imagination is married
	to her distant goal.
Rules are broken here:
	no time for fooling.

They are reaching,
	reaching,
Like shoppers wanting stacked goods
	on a high shelf.
The eagle flies in the day;
	the climbers never stop.

Mountaineers are like people,
	colorful as the Swiss.
Their cheeks glow like tomatoes.
Their toenails are steep.
Finally the launch is ready
	and all who climb
	drift down again.
Copyright © | Year Posted 2015

Poem

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Nance Avatar
September 14, 2015 at 8:28 AM
Very descriptive and visual, nicely done...Grats on this being featured on the homepage this week.. :)
Simpson Avatar
February 24, 2015 at 5:31 PM
All of your best hiking experiences are expressed here. Very nice!
Holmes Avatar
February 16, 2015 at 4:44 AM
Thought provoking Bill....thanks for this! ...Peter
Holmes Avatar
February 16, 2015 at 4:43 AM
Thought provoking Bill....thanks for this! ...Peter
Johnson-Saunders Avatar
February 13, 2015 at 10:01 PM
Incredible, Bill! It seems like you have firsthand knowledge. I'm terribly afraid of heights...hugs, Rhonda
Leiser Avatar
February 13, 2015 at 2:45 PM
Awesome poem, Bill! Mountaineers are truly hardy people. My husband climbed Mt. Shasta here in California once, and he said it was the hardest thing he'd ever done.
Chakrabarty Avatar
February 13, 2015 at 8:11 AM
I feel like climbing my cheeks glow like tomatoes....drinking icicle drips. Are you a mountaineer Bill?
Yates Avatar
July 28, 2017 at 7:24 PM
No, but I look for gold in the mountains.
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