A Mountain My Hill

Walking so slowly
Enjoying the sunshine
Feeling the stretch of sinew
Ignoring the pain
The hill
My mountain to climb
Just a small incline
In an ever steepening world
Enough to make this heart race
These lungs burn
Memories of younger days
When I would race forever
Ignoring fatigue
A winner

Rest at the top
Let the pulse settle
Look around and relax
Before the steady descent
Back to My normal level
Where trouble waits
Like leaden boots
To weigh Me down

Again
Climbing
Swinging cane in tempo
Like a city gentleman
Counting as I stride
For company
And concentration
Deflecting pain away

The summit underfoot
Sitting once more
Feeling a small amount of pride
To survive
When I could have died
Rolled over and admitted defeat
No doubt more dignified
Than this ungainly ballet

Again the descent
Slipping this time on shale
The ice making footwork untidy
No clever foxtrot here
My legs forgetting skills
Pedant Alzheimer’s
Embarrassingly predictable
Like piss stained underwear

Standing at a graveside
One I excavated
Covering a dear friend
Lost to old age last year
Checking for disturbance
Blasphemous incursion
But happily confirming
Peace remains intact

The hill beckons
A third ascent
Just for shots and giggles
Because I can
I have time
Strength and will
And most importantly
No regrets