Reached

Reaching

The climb had been long,

arduous,

paths that led to dead ends,

stumbles, setbacks,

those times when she

huddled

shivering in makeshift shelter.

If she knew then how long,

tedious,

it would be just to perch atop

the summit, clutching weeds

when others found a clear path

years ago,

she never would've soldiered.

The tippy top was illusory,

perilous,

only one peak rather than

the mountain top, and, really,

it was bumping into others also

clambering

that made it worth the effort.

Still, she reached once more.

• Theresa Milstein 2023

Thank you, Debbie Ridpath Ohi, for the poetry prompt on Post!

Weekly Poetry Prompt Challenge For #PostPoets

To fellow #PostPoets out there who are looking for a low-pressure creative challenge: write a poem inspired by my art and either share it in the comments or on your own feed with the hashtag #DebbieOhiPoetryPrompt somewhere in the post to make it easier for me and others to find.