Upon arrival my thoughts painted a patina
Full of dark hues of crimson and ink
Creating a stark contrast between the living colors of a healthy mountain sky

Months of worry and loss perpetuated a sense of loneliness
Like a disease slowly unraveling the progress and success
Obtained after years of falling

You taught me how to stand...
How to love...
And how to forget...

Upon my first step into this wilderness,
Our home,
A rush of lost emotion was found
And above me the sky roiled,
Screaming in protest,
As my thoughts of you merged with the quiet serenity of the neighboring peaks
To form a rolling tempest
Of our past and my present

The pain then crashed upon my soul
Sending myriad flashes of opposing memories
Incompatible with the reality of your absence

Through this colorful migraine
I found the courage to take another step,
One foot in front of the other,
Each alleviating your glare that had consumed my senses

With the last ray of light upon the horizon
I, like the sun, set down your image
So that upon my arisal
Fresh eyes can begin to see the sky
For its own inherent beauty
That for so long I had attributed to you