The Perilous Ascent Poem by Lee McGregor

Clawing desperately, frantically,
Muscles burning
Heart pumping recklessly,
The heaving chest,
Committing every ounce
Of strength to the test,
A courageous test.
Evading the horror,
The darkness and stench
Of what lies below,
The only goal.
But so much further to climb,
So much higher to go.

Wretched and alone,
Imprisoned, entombed
The cylindrical shell
A living hell.
Faint glimmer of light
Far up above
Ignites the will,
Inspires the spirit
To press on, hold on,
To ascend inch
By ghastly inch,
Squeeze finger and toe
Through cracks icy cold,
Stay calm,
Hold focus and control,
For either lost
Is to plunge and flail
Screaming and final
To a realm of terror unknown.

All but a dream,
A recurring theme,
Caught in the grips
Once again
Of a nightmare obscene,
Always the climbing,
But hope so far away.
The depths ominous below
Unending threatening,
Taunting to let go,
To sink and be lost
Forever in a swirling
Cesspit of vile abomination,
This warped creation
The product of an unsettled mind,
A perilously unsteady mind.
Where on the wall
Will he himself find next time?