He hears their  chuckling
every now and then
above the alpine,
in a place where
none of them truly belonged.
But the sacred saw them worthy,
giving them borrowed time
to etch their memories
on the stone age frost.

Fear gave them such
sweet inspiration,
those precious moments
to leave their speedy footprints
in the endless drifts,
filling crevasses,
that disappeared
forever
in the freezing gales.

They have all dispersed
to different parts of the globe,
each one knowing
the beauty of the mountain,
in its raw form
& never forgetting
their laughter
they once had
on the lip of her ice
kissing pain.
Amen.