by Daniel Irwin Tucker
Member since:
March 2, 2007

When the Mountain I Am Afraid to Climb

March 11, 2008 04:00 PM EDT (Updated: May 22, 2009 09:58 PM EDT)
views: 148 | comments: 35

When the mountain

I am afraid to climb

The ropes and tackles

In abundance be.

 

In perfect shape

My body and mind

Not a weak link

In the expedition.

 

But when the mountain

I dare to climb

The ropes and

Tackles are tangled.

 

In ill shape

My body and mind.

Weakness as a

Spell doth bind.

 

Hopes and dreams

Of tireless youth

Spend fast in

The spiritually aged.

 

Strength  the glittering

Cloak of youth

Fades in weakening

Jaded resolve.

 

But in me all common

Traits dissolve.

The bucking steed

Will ne'er be tamed.

 

Pigeon-holed   the

Misfortune of other souls

Has not been allowed

By my rebellion.

 

But this resolve is

Not without price--

The foothills of youth

Are far removed

 

By erosion caused by

Unstable belief systems

Washed away into

The Sea of Mediocrity.

 

A distant mountain

I sometimes see--

Distance  the deceiver

Of proportion.

 

Challenged at the foot

Of the formidable sight

Halfway climbing

Only to slip and fall.

 

Does this mountain

Need to be climbed?

Do youthful dreams

Need to be fulfilled?

 

When these dreams

Are all you ever had

You wake up falling

Or climbing higher.

 

Driven by dreams

And gifts and talents

That rage like a river

In the driest desert

 

Calling home

What must come home.

Holding on to what

Must be fulfilled.

 

Obstacles that have

Become landmarks

Seem to fade

Into obscurity

 

Like threats that

Always remain empty.

Laughing at what

Used to bring tears.

 

I remain standing

Through all these trials

Not unscathed

And a bit weather beaten

 

Halfway up another

Formidable mountain

Making up for lost time

From a major fall.

 

Copyright 2008 Daniel Irwin Tucker

All Rights Reserved.
link to this page
Bookmark this post:
Facebook
Twitter
Delicious
Buzz
More

Comments: 35

Wade A. Mar 11, 2008, 4:24pm EDT
I see this as someone jaded, yet tenaciously fighting to overcome the obstacles or distorted beliefs and mindsets so many others have fell prey to, relentless in the effort to remain independent. It reminds me of a modern day Don Quixote if you will. There are so many levels to this poem, I'm sure I'll come back and it will speak to me some more.
Excellent work, thank you Daniel!
Kathryn E. Mar 11, 2008, 5:45pm EDT
STUNNING ~!
Kamran Qureshi Mar 11, 2008, 11:30pm EDT
At times I get tired of the challenges life puts in front of me:) - But I guess that's what life is about. Thankyou for the poem, Daniel.
Cheryl W. Mar 12, 2008, 5:48am EDT
A wonderful poem, Daniel. I can relate to the feelings you expressed so beautifully here.
Delaune Michel Mar 12, 2008, 1:22pm EDT
that was beautiful, Daniel. and just what I needed today. I got very sad news about a friend's baby, and your poem helped me have some perspective. thank you.
Daniel Irwin Tucker Mar 12, 2008, 2:40pm EDT
WADE, thank you for your insight! Cheers.

KATHRYN, "STUNNING!" I can live with that! Thank you.
Daniel Irwin Tucker Mar 12, 2008, 3:00pm EDT
KAMRAN, "AT TIMES I GET TIRED OF THE CHALLENGES LIFE PUTS IN FRONT OF ME." I hope that there was just enough hope infused in the poem to encourage the tired and weary traveller. Cheers!

CHERYL, thank you for the lovely comment! Cheers.

DELAUNE, I'm happy that you read my poem at a time when you needed it! Cheers!
karen v. Mar 12, 2008, 8:27pm EDT
Daniel, I relate to your poem in regards to those misplaced, oft given up on, youthful dreams. The mountains. And the obstacles seemed more formidable and impassable from an innocent's view. I relate to this poem because I feel time pressing in on me at 52, in frightening ways. Picasso said only put off until tomorrow what you are willing to die without doing.
I love your poem. It speaks to me. I have had major falls, too! I abandoned my dreams for decades! This poem comes to a powerful end, on a positive note. Let us believe that what is said is true - that it is never too late!
vijay kumar Mar 13, 2008, 11:49am EDT
A very special poem speaking so intensely on the struggles and strains that you encounter with, in the battle of life. The heights that you have to climb and the unavoidable threats, constraints and challenges that draw you back and make you fall many a time in this journey are all wonderfully woven in magnificent, vivid words of wisdom, here. Reading this poem was an unforgettable, unique experience. Thank You, Daniel.
John Harris Beck Mar 13, 2008, 6:32pm EDT
Daniel, hi -- great to start to know your poetry with this very substantial piece. I second the praise already recorded and just add, which may be implicit in posting here, that you haven't completed your work with this piece, most importantly in reconciling the very high old rhetoric of the first stanza with the more contemporary way of saying things that is fully in control at the end. At this point for me it's like one of those great marble sculptings not yet fully released from the block of stone.
Daniel Irwin Tucker Mar 14, 2008, 2:22pm EDT
KAREN I'm touched that this poem meant so much to you. Maybe you should re-examine and rethink the dreams you abandoned all those years ago. It's amazing how many people in their fifties and older shake he dust off of old dreams and ambitions, and breathe new life into them! I don't think it's ever too late!! Cheers.

VIJAY Nice to hear from you again! Thank you for the lovely comments. Cheers.

JOHN Thanks for the critique. Thanks also for comparing my poem to a ". . . great marble sculptings. . ." Cheers.
David C. Mar 14, 2008, 4:34pm EDT
Nicely done. I am going to enjoy catching up on your posts. Thanks for the invite.
Marge H. Mar 14, 2008, 6:27pm EDT
Perhaps, as you suggested to Karen, it is time to revisit some of those old dreams. Maybe there is a way to revive them; to make them viable again.

Your poem gives encouragement and hope.
Susan A. Mar 14, 2008, 7:23pm EDT
BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
Daniel Irwin Tucker Mar 14, 2008, 7:54pm EDT
DAVID. . . Thanks for dropping by. Cheers!

MARGE. . . My greatest pleasure as a writer is to give encouragement and hope. Thank you!

SUSAN. . . Thanks for the compliment! Cheers!
Shannon R. Mar 15, 2008, 12:19am EDT
Thanks for sharing!
Marie L. Mar 15, 2008, 2:40pm EDT
So well done --I had to read it through a couple times and it just has such an impact each time I read it!
Daniel Irwin Tucker Mar 16, 2008, 1:28pm EDT
SHANNON. . . Thanks for dropping by. Cheers.

MARIE. . . So glad my poem made such an impact! I really appreciate your comment. Cheers.
Vivian P. Mar 16, 2008, 1:31pm EDT
Wow
Awesome poem
Kathy E. Mar 16, 2008, 5:18pm EDT
This is an excellent poem, and very much like my life. My mountain's are not looking quite so tall anymore, thank goodness!
flit . Mar 16, 2008, 7:14pm EDT
sometimes the mountain changes....works for me :)
Kathy W. Mar 16, 2008, 8:48pm EDT
The mountain is there for a reason. To some, it is a barrier; to others, a challenge by its very existence. I just concluded a cluster of classes, where the instructor had suffered from a broken back from a mountain climbing climb. He says he'll never climb again, but he still wants to.
Blessings, may all your foothills be mountains when needed, and all your mountains be foothills when you need to rest.
Wilka
Daniel Irwin Tucker Mar 17, 2008, 3:44pm EDT
VIVIAN. . . Thanks for your comment! Cheers.

KATHY. . . Glad they're not so ominous anymore! When I wrote, "Distance, the deceiver of proportion," I was trying to get across that sometimes the mountain seems larger than it really is [or smaller]. This has helped me overcome a lot of obstacles, by keeping things in perspective.

Anyway, thanks for the comment! Cheers.

FLIT. . . Thanks for dropping by! Cheers.

KATHY. . . I agree with your perspective about mountains being a barrier to some, and a challenge to others. It's kind of like the adage (paraphrased), "One persons trash is another persons treasure.'"

Thanks much for the kind blessing! Cheers.
Daniel Irwin Tucker Mar 17, 2008, 3:55pm EDT
To all my Gather friends, I would like to wish what Kathy wished me: "MAY ALL YOUR FOOTHILLS BE MOUNTAINS WHEN NEEDED, AND ALL YOUR MOUNTAINS BE FOOTHILLS WHEN YOU NEED TO REST."

Happy St. Paddy's Day to you all!!!!!!
Sandy F. Mar 17, 2008, 7:32pm EDT
As one who deals daily with chronic pain and disability, I recognize the struggle to sort out hopes and dreams in the new light of what is possible in our changed reality. I believe this to be the constant plight of human existance. To be awake is a great help.

Very nice poetry, Daniel. Thank you for sharing here.
Mary H. Mar 18, 2008, 3:53pm EDT
Great poetry. I naturally feel prompted to walk trails and when I am hesitant I feel it's not meant to be. I hope though if you get the courage if prompted.
Pepsie J. Mar 19, 2008, 7:54am EDT
Excellent Daniel.

I think this weaves a story and is very thought provoking.
Daniel Irwin Tucker Mar 19, 2008, 3:46pm EDT
MARY. . . I like the idea of taking trails through the mountain. In many cases this is the case. But sometimes the mountain can be too jagged and too steep, and it HAS TO be crossed. In cases like this, mountain climbing is the only way. Thanks though for your thoughtful comment. Cheers.

PEPSIE. . . Thanks for the your comment. Cheers.
Sharon P. Mar 21, 2008, 7:22pm EDT
At least your character is still fighting his way up that mountain.
Sheila Deeth Mar 26, 2008, 6:01pm EDT
Intense. Great images.
Susan B. Mar 27, 2008, 5:13pm EDT
And why do we climb mountains - because they are there :)
Granny Janny H. May 24, 2008, 4:00pm EDT
I am glad that you updated this poem; otherwise I might have missed it. Judging by the comments, I am not the only one who felt the recognition of my own struggles in your well chosen words. I like the construction and the pace of the poem as well.
Daniel Irwin Tucker May 24, 2008, 5:10pm EDT
Glad you found it, Janet! Glad also that in it you felt the recognition of your own struggles. Makes me feel good! Cheers!
Jan S. May 23, 2009, 12:44am EDT

Awesome. 

Thanks for posting to Fugitives from Ignorance, Conformity, and Peer Pressure.
Bonnie S. Oct 23, 2009, 12:38am EDT

Does this mountain

Need to be climbed?

Do youthful dreams

Need to be fulfilled?

I've been at this point so many times ... how many years does it take to live a dream? Just when I decide to set the dream aside, I get auspicious signs to keep going. Here's what gripped me, "the bucking steed will ne'er be tamed." Sometimes, we have buck until fear falls off our backs.

Join the Conversation
Chime in! Become a Gather member to comment.
Already a member? Sign in
top
 
Gather | Friends | Groups | Share
About Gather | Engagement Marketing | Make New Friends | Gather Points | Advertise on Gather | Gather Press | Privacy | Terms of Service | Community Guidelines
Books | Celebs | Entertainment | Family | Food | Health | Moms | Money | News | Politics | Spirituality | Sports | Travel | Writing
Version 16961, "Pacino"; Copyright © 2009 Gather Inc. All rights reserved.