Mount Four-Oh Poem by David A. Moore

I could have gone around the mountain,
Followed the valley to its length,
But that distant peak begged to be conquered,
Dared me to prove I had the strength.

And so I answered its silent taunt,
Fought the cold and biting wind,
Strained my muscles through the ache,
Never giving in.

Scaling that mountain became my life,
My purpose-my hero's test.
And as vict'ry drew close, I could hear
the songs they'd sing of this great quest.

But when I surveyed that conquered peak,
I met a most perplexing sight.
It was cold, hard rock all around.
Something wasn't right.

This wasn't what I'd set out to find.
This wasn't the world I'd sought.
I tried to remember what I thought I'd see,
But for the life of me I could not.

I collapsed upon that lifeless mount,
With barely strength enough to breathe,
My eyes still darting in desperate search
For what it was that summoned me.

And in the distance, far from me
But not far from whence I'd come,
I saw a fire burn within the night,
A warmly glowing one.

As my eyes grew heavy, my body numb,
I lay sprawled in silent reflection.
This journey to conquer the mountaintop
Had gone in exactly the wrong direction.