There are times the only purchase
Is a seam
Just enough for a fingertip grasp
All wiry tension and sweat and strength
The eyes can never falter
Ever upward
As feet move slowly
A studied progress
From outcrops to angles
The hands have it
The balance, the grasp
A fist acting as anchor
For the next rise
A pull
A push
A boost into the sky
The reward
For holding on ~ Caroline A. Slee