Four AM; Not even the sun has risen
A dutiful son, I follow his command
In the darkness I stumble into the truck
Half asleep and half awake I sat quietly still
We arrive at the beginning barely alive
I fall out of the truck and place one foot forward
One step at a time I follow my dad's lead
Into the trees along the produced path
With no light piercing through the trees
A fear nearly pierces my heart in the dark
Yet I found comfort that my father is ahead
I trust he will protect me from what cannot be seen
We break through the trees as the sun breaks into day
We stop and marvel at the display of colors
Reflecting upon the mountains of rock
Pink becomes rosy then red ending in a brilliant purple
Now I know why we rose before the sun
To see this wonder of creation's artist
Painted on the mountain rocks
Even as a child, I marvel at its beauty
We leave the alpine glow to new sights
Clear streams dance upon rocky beds
Paint brush flowers coat the ground
Hurried chipmunks scurry and hide
A vast space opens before us
The dirt trail seems to end
Where giant boulders begin
We pause to ponder our chosen course
Our destination lay far ahead
Where God placed a key hole
To the other side of the mountain
For father and son to pass through
New fears of rocks to scale
And narrow ledges to cross
Lay ahead for this weary child
So I place my trust in the strength of my father
We nearly reach the end of our climb
To face a wall that must be scaled
Should we climb or should we quit
Together we decide, we've come this far...
Onward and upward we ascend
Refusing to end our adventure
Together we strive to reach the top
In the strength and courage of the other
On the peak, I find time to rest
Dad finds his breath and hope
The whole earth lay before our sights
We stand on top closer, stronger and renewed
Author notes
When I was about 12 years old, my dad and I climbed Long's Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. We rose before the sun to get above tree line to see the Alpine glow during sunrise.
I think that climb bonded us for we faced an adventure together.
This piece has parallels to our walk with our Heavenly Father.
A contest entry
- speaks in purple by Cat.
700 points, ended November 14, 2007, 19 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Please tell me what you think
Comments
1 - 5 of 5
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excellent~
Wow...
This was something else to read..I was hooked on this from start to finish....the imagery in the poem is wonderful as well...this is one of your best poems yet in my book..I love all of yours but this one spoke volumes to me...
I hope you do place in the contest..for it does deserve attention that you have so adequately penned here...
Best of luck in the contest...this is definitley a winner in my book
Will catch up....haven't been feeling good at all lately..If I could give this poem stars I would give you a good 10 in fact I will
**********
Hugs n love
Susan~~~
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i just love this story- with its parallel peaks and two souls walking together in one accomplishment- the strength of the piece is just the honesty of the writer's viewpoint- the simplicity of the story telling vs the grandness of the view-
this is just lovely- so glad to find it here
m -
this is a lovely story, thanks for entering it here...
al -
what a beautiful story of a time with your dad, you will cherish this memory all your life i know. the story does make an interesting read to one who knows so little about you, however (and forgive my being critical on such a beautiful story)i do like to have a little of the write to imagine for myself, to visualize in my own mind, to wonder at..., and in this one you have told me maybe too much...as far as poetry goes..this part is my favorite :
New fears of rocks to scale
And narrow ledges to cross
Lay ahead for this weary child
it symbolizes the journey of not just thispoem, but of so much of childhood and life. a very beautiful write that i enjoyed reading.
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This is beautiful, spiritual too.
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