"The Traveler and The Mountain"

A rock of mass proportion…

A mountain none could climb.

Many a sojourner had attempted,

And left broken,

Hanging their heads in defeat;

Leaving the mountain to stand

Alone, as ever.

The mountain and I had that in common…

We were both uncommonly alone.

One day as I was traversing in solitude,

Searching for challenge and change;

The rock beckoned to me,

As if yearning for my tenacious efforts:

My stubborn will to succeed.

I hesitated for only a moment

Before humbling myself to the challenge.

At once, something frightening and strange

Began to occur…

It grew.

Changed.

Jagged rocks began to form.

Cliffs begin to rise higher.

The mountain’s peak became all but lost

In the dark clouds above,

And suddenly I looked so small

Next to this dark fortress.

The rock appeared to me cold,

Defensive, quiet.

So dark and lovely. So Foreboding.

So firm.

Daring me… sneering;

Whispering ominous words of warning and want.

I was intimidated, but unafraid.

I resolutely made my way to its base.

But as I grew closer, I noticed something

That caught me by surprise…

Out of a deep crevice

Grew a solitary, tiny, blue flower.

It was a Morning Glory… delicate, perfect and alone.

Untouched and unnoticed.

Growing silently:

So contrastingly majestic

Against its granite backdrop.

It was as if the life deep within this massive structure

Was yearning to break free,

And I had stumbled upon the crack in the armor.

Maybe that’s why the mountain had called to me…

Maybe I was destined to see, and to know

What none other could.

I caught one brief glimpse of the flower’s soft glory,

And suddenly the mountain didn’t seem so large to me.

The fragile stem and gentle petals

Swayed in the cool breeze,

And I was captivated:

Blinded to the obvious.

I felt overjoyed to know that even amongst

Darkness and defeat,

There was life;

A semblance of hope.

I had no desire to pick the flower.

I had lost my will to climb the mountain.

I only wanted to turn and walk away…

Not in defeat,

Rather knowing I had conquered

The rock

In a way no one had or ever would again.

The lesson I learned was worth

The long journey home

Alone.