It’s taken a long time to break its back,
I’ve been lost many times on its lonely track.
When young, from the distance it looked like a ridge;
the closer I get, the more I need courage.
It used to be verdant and dotted with flowers,
a place I could dream about in quiet hours,
but now it’s precarious with rockfalls and chasms,
the peaks are too high and deep are the canyons.
But hope is an eagle, a creature with wings
that I fly to the top of the mountain – and sing.
Kim M. Russell, 4th October 2023
Image by Ben Lowe on Unsplash
Written for today’s prompt ‘The Hill of Hope’ over at What’s Going On?
writing in north norfolk 
The eagle image of hope is so powerful. Love it. “It used to be verdant and dotted with flowers, / a place I could dream about in quiet hours,” Love the dreamy lines that remind me of Kashmir as well as Switzerland.
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Thank you kindly, Sumana!
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Wow, just wow! Though” it is precarious with rockfalls and chasms,” making it to the top is NOT impossible if one has that hope. (The last two lines were breathtaking.)
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Thank you so much, Mary!
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I LOVE this poem, and it resonates so much – I especially love the closing lines when you fly your eagle to the top of the mountain and it sings! Wonderful. Made me smile – and gave me hope, because this is what matters, keeping that hope alive.
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Thank you so much, Sherry! I’m glad my poem made you smile!
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Rhyme works so well in this gem of a poem, it prepares me for a hopeful end and the song, despite the hard and broken path. The path changes over time, it is so easy to get lost. I had to lift my head at the end and look for the eagle. I will be ready to fly!
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Thank you, Susan. I wasn’t sure I was on the right track until the eagle appeared!
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Wings are a necessity. (K)
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They definitely are, Kerfe.
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Loved this, Kim! Gorgeous use of imagery to accentuate the struggle and the determination and the hope. Pure poetry.
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Thank you kindly, Dora.
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True, we do need powerful wings to soar to the top when it seems like there are impossible rocks and canyons… the eagle analogy is apt.
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Thank you, Rajanni.
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This is exquisitely woven, Kim! The imagery alone puts me in the mind of stretching my limbs and fly toward the unknown! Especially resonate with; “When young, from the distance it looked like a ridge; the closer I get, the more I need courage.” Yes! ❤️❤️❤️
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Thank you, Sana! 🙂
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This is an amazing poem. While the mountain is high the writer has found a way to gain altitude.
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Thank you, Truedessa.
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