Stand

Stand up in the face of the insurmountable,

The looming mountains blocking your destined path,

Bending, breaking, and meandering,

Up the steep, sloping, and rugged.

Claw and climb out of the pit,

Of habitual despair,

Learned in your long and languished suffering,

And begin, today, on the righteous journey.

Struggle under a screaming sun,

Burning the cutting stones,

Sinking in your souls,

Weighing you down once more.

Instead of giving rest and recovery,

Well earned in your life,

Well deserved in your plight,

Reward yourself with strength to go on.

Your trek is hard,

It is arduous, apathetic, and fraught,

It is demanding, damning, and without mercy,

And yet it must begin.

You will find little pity,

From those watching and hoping,

From those whistling and jeering,

From those who will be your only company.

You are of a long line of those who must go,

Encapsulated and retold in myth,

Of those cursed to roll rocks again and again and again,

Consoled by absurd smiles.

You must take those steps,

Not for winning, no award awaits you,

Not for fame, no one wants to remember you,

And not for me, no… never for me.

You must take those steps,

For they are yours,

And you live these years out,

Able to tell others how.

For the climb is easier each time,

In the dawn of youth,

We look up to the shadowy peak,

And are overwhelmed by the urge to overcome.

So stand up in the shade,

And make the impossible come natural,

Lift with your summoned strength,

And claim the first of many victories.

#HI