“hills to climb“
A figure counted once,
standing where the verge breaks open.
Word intact, meaning thinned,
a marker left upright by habit alone.
Grass leans in, listening.
Its tilt becomes direction,
though the ground beneath it
slides in its own quiet argument.
Your craft appears sideways—
a pattern caught in the corner of vision,
not quite bird, not quite glimmer,
something that knew how
to move without witness.
Kindness travels the low path,
choosing its turns the way water does,
touching stone, root, fallen branch,
never asking which part
should be remembered.
Faces drift to weather,
voices soften to grain,
yet a nearness lingers,
unclaimed but steady in its place.
The ridge circles back.
Old lines rise with it,
not to conclude,
only to continue the climb.
.
Nice.
I was told ages ago that it’s a flaw in writing to give inanimate things the ability to do conscious things, like the grass leaning to listen, as if it knew to.
Yet, I argued that in creative writing, comes a creative freedom to paint things in a different light. To give it that “as if”.
That’s what makes it more interesting and even unpredictable.
Well done poem here. I truly enjoyed it.
Took out the “as if” during the edit to tighten the line. It’s like jumping into coloured chalk floor paintings and let Mary Poppins take care of the rest. And yes, I was told that too. But then again poetic licence, freedom of speech and creative expression all say otherwise. Thanks for your much valued visit. Truly grateful for the word you left here as well. 🙏🕊️
Dear K,
Even your summary waxes poetic. I enjoyed this piece because the inanimate had something to offer. It was a lovely image seeing and feeling the energy transfer from one thing to another throughout the write. Lovely piece. H🌷
Thank you, dear Honoria, for keeping that energy in transfer-flow. Now, even after the poem has rested from its reading a work it began continues on. Most appreciatively, K.
Can you be more specific about the content of your article? After reading it, I still have some doubts. Hope you can help me.
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