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
