Mt Shasta Sunrise, A Mountaineering Quest

Mt Shasta Sunrise — Image by Lalit Kumar

Frozen aeons rest easy on

The majestic snow-capped peak of Mt Shasta.

Time has chiseled the mountain in serenity.

I tread upon the couloir of time-slope, crampons on —

I wonder what fossils lurk in crevasses.

Night’s shadow, air-chill, strong gusts —

My fear is cast upon these obstacles. My life story

Stands in a head-to-head battle with this mountain, a climax.

I lie down in my tent, cold night crawls upon Red Banks

In weariness, all thoughts float away like wind-blown mist,

I have tried and failed a thousand times by crack of dawn.

Unfazed, I open my eyes, ready to meet my mountain. My adventurous spirit

Carves a roadmap to eternity on the snow-capped peak of Mt Shasta.

P.S. — This poem is taken from the recently published book Yosemite of My Heart