remember the muddy route
up the mountain
is marked by yellow posts
lift and place your weight
one foot steady to risk the next
feel your muscles stretch and flex
the deep lake before you
clouds all around so you cannot see the end
step into moss
tiny leaves sink under your boot
rise when you lift your foot
find yourself with only the birds
beside a lake rippling in the breeze
grasses moving lightly with the wind
the smell of rain
the ghosts of ptarmigans fly over the ripples
revealing how the weave of water and earth
hold together
when you are lost remember
you are not the centre
in your heavy boned body
here by the lake
you glimpse through the mist
the birds the water the fish
it is not important whether or not
you find your way down