All my life the thought of you has led me upwards
The trail sometimes so hard to travel I’d almost give up
But I always managed to just make it to the next plateau.
Never did you lend a hand or reach out to catch me as I fell,
yet still I went on, enduring the hardships of my chosen path
and reaping the fruits of my labor, sewn along the way.
With each new level I would look over the last contemplation.
And think to myself there could be no higher ground
Then the fog would clear and another tier would come into view.
Again, I would load up my family and all our worldly possessions
and drag them kicking and screaming upwards, forever upwards
to this place I knew had to exist, our place at the top of it all.
I lost my wife on one leg of my journey, the kids on another
and somewhere along the way I was relieved of my possessions,
but I made it to the top of my mountain.
Stopping to catch my breath, I looked out over my world,
but I could see nothing. The clouds blocked my view to all below me.
I could see only the heavens and the small point of land beneath my feet.
In that instant, I knew. Life is not lived, from the top down.
Everything I am or I ever was, was behind me beneath the clouds
that lay so thick that I could not see the path from which I had come.
And there in that moment of realization and frustration you appeared to me.
Holding out your hand, beckoning me to step out away from known ground,
to take a leap of faith and trust that you would not let me fall.
My mind flashed back to all the times I needed you and you weren’t there.
Why now should I believe that you wouldn’t again just let me fall?
Perhaps the thin air at the top was causing me to hallucinate.
No, I decided, you couldn’t be trusted and I turned away from you.
In my haste I stumbled, and found myself falling away from your direction.
I fell through the clouds and I saw paths I had followed to the top.
I saw my children and my wife, I saw my belongings, all the things
that had been good in my life flashed before my eyes as I fell, downward.
I fell for what seemed like forever, and somewhere during my fall, I fell asleep.
And while I was sleeping, I dreamt that everything I was, was fading away
I no longer remembered how my journey to the top started, and now, I can almost remember where it ended, no, what was I thinking of…….I can’t remem…….
Hey! I just realized I’m awake, and I am looking into the eyes of the most beautiful
creature I have ever seen, smiling eyes that know me, and love me.
Eyes that draw my attention from all else, a soft voice so soothing.
Suddenly it’s very noisy and there are more eyes, looking at me, smiling happy eyes. I am overwhelmed and I start to cry, feeling the warmth of flesh on my face, there’s something in my mouth and it’s tasty and fulfilling,
I stop crying and open my eyes again, looking up into those wonderful eyes that love me.
I guess you did catch me after all.
