Give us Some Higher Mountains


POEM


Give Us Some Higher Mountains


Give us some higher mountains,

some cliffs and falls

beyond our reach,

a region too forbidding,

too unmapped and always,

always masked in mist,

with light too luminous for mortal eyes.


I've seen the row of climbers

neck to neck

that wait in line to reach

our highest peak.

We've learned too well

how not to breathe

the thinner air,

to follow in the sherpa's steps,

to reach the summit

without fail, with eyes

not clouded over.


Give us some higher

mountains soon,

like Chinese peaks

in ancient art,

that tower high above the fray.

A single summit

masked in mist.

Herlinde Spahr


(placeholder)