No Return

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NO RETURN


Having faithfully followed 

        the blazes chiseled in the wood

to guide your trek on the thin

        track leading up the mountain,

standard practice is to catch 

        your breath, a photograph, then hitch 

up (once again) your pack to begin

        the long descent. But when 

the climb is anything but standard, 

        the blazes etched in the heart

towards a summit always beyond

        the one you're standing on; when

at every peak you find "leaving" isn't quite

        the word for what you did, seeing you brought

it all with you; when ahead new ones

       poke through an endless horizon

like little shoots, there is no reason

        to return, then, as there’s nothing to return

to—remember? the whole of it

        came with you on your slow ascent.

This means you may be climbing

        forever and forever be right at home.


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