Perspective

Hiking we see the next step,

the next rise,

or–looking back–perhaps, how far we’ve come.

Branches, or the rocks in front of us, block

anything farther

until

we pass the treeline,

reach the summit,

But

from above, as from a glider 

floating silent on the wind,

tendrils of green link

mountain to mountain,

range to range.

Distance is how we make sense

of a mountain, ourselves.