The Climb Home: An Adirondack Poem

Photo by Ray Tolbert on Unsplash

Pack laden, I enter the forest community

Enveloped by green and fragrant wood

Dusty boots caress the forest floor beneath the towering hardwoods

Strike up the scent of earth, leaves, and red spruce

Quiet covers me in a coat of contentment

I am almost there

I hear the welcome in the trees

They bow slightly in my wake — a nod to my journey home

Bending my head in kind, I honor the ancient ones

The waterfall calling

Loosens my shoulders. I breathe deeply

The splashes, a panacea to what ails me

The cascades and flumes harmonize

I stop to listen

Renewed, I trek onward and upward

Journeying my way through forest paths and craggy rock

Pausing every now and then to catch my breath

And consider what surrounds me

I have so far to go — the peak beyond the visible peak

Already I have blisters, the pack pulls on weary shoulders

My back hot, tight, and spasming