Climbing Mountains

I am climbing mountains
Not like Everest or Kilimanjaro
These mountains are bigger
They are the mountains
Of my heart’s desire
They are the mountains
Of my soul’s yearning

There are many dead along the way
Those whose hearts are frozen
Those who could not finish the ascent
I search these corpses
Looking for any glimmer of life
Looking for any hint of my own demise
But always to move on leaving them in icy stillness

It is the effort that matters
Reaching any summit
Is only half way there
It is only a pause to take in that view
No promise even that anything will be seen
For It may be obscured in mystery
Thick as fog and clouds heavy with snow

And once there what lies before me
The journey back down
Descent back to the self
Fraught with as much challenge
As the climb, perhaps more
I must be careful not to stumble and fall
Not to succumb to the cold that wants to freeze me

I am climbing mountains
Ascent and descent, again and again
Coming to know my own heart
Learning to listen to my own soul
Passing those frozen and left for dead
With no promise of clarity at the summit
But it is the effort that matters