On Suilven’s summit ridge
I’m a four-year old, climbing
a spiral staircase too big for me.
The treads are fine but the risers
are a stretch too far and facing out
on a thousand-foot fall
too easily imagined.
Still, having traversed that
there’s the domed grassy top
and a cairn, but the peak experience,
the real triumphs, were below:
the switchback bog slog, the scramble
up to the bealach, and suddenly -
a projection of wonder,
as the whole of northern Scotland
changed from map to photo
in an everlasting instant.
Colin Will, Scotland, UK
2 comments:
Colin Will, formerly a scientific librarian, has had four poetry collections published, the latest being Sushi & Chips (Diehard Publishers, 2006). He chairs the board of StAnza: Scotland's International Poetry Festival, and he is webmaster for Poetry Scotland. He is also a publisher, under the name Calder Wood Press. In 2008 he was appointed Poet Partner to Elgin. He lives in Dunbar, near the Scottish border. He has travelled widely within Europe, and he has also visited the USA, Japan, China and Tibet. His poetry is a poetry of place, and his themes reflect a love of people and the natural world, often in language derived from his scientific background.
Everlasting instant, indeed. These words have joined with me. Delightful!
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