“Mountaineer”~by Michael Graves

 

 

“Mountaineer” (to Jaxon)

The clouds finally part.

And I see you 
in the distance
on the mountain above me, waving.
Like some intransigent diamond
set amongst
the rocks of time.

For you have chosen
the vertical trek
where life is win or die.
The holy light of purpose shines
from your eyes, brighter
than the fiercest star, as you climb.

On a course so few have seen
as yet, or even dared
to imagine, you
industriously plot your way beyond
the line of human sight.

Focused on the rocks above.
Seeking out the next vantage point
from which to reach
a place
closer to your own
eternal sky.

You will reach bounds beyond
any to which I hope to aspire
just now
my son.

And someday (I know) you
will find a way to sink a piton
into clouds
and just keep climbing.
Where others would have
long since sought
the descending trail.

It’s true, I take another path.
A chimney in between the rocks
while you hammer
piton after
piton into
the living rock
of the mountain
and continue to
ascend its unforgiving, icy
face.

No man resembles my dreams
so much as you, my son.
And somewhere
up the mountain, we will sit
out of the wind
around a fire.
Anchored for a time
to rocks of our own creation.
And share stories of the climb.

–Graves 1/23/15