The Valley At The Summit Poem by naux ner

First it was a step,
The path to conquer was long.
Humbled by the majestic mountain,
The Hiker carried on.

Each foot that landed,
Was followed by a prayer of praise.
One after the other her feet trudged along,
Towards the top of the range.

Precariously battling against the elements,
Blizzards and ice as large as skulls.
Many obliterated along this path,
Not meant for the weak and feeble.

The daily grind made her stronger,
And from strength, arose confidence to conquer.
The peak was near, just metres away
No time for weakness, no time to pray.

Finally the Summit!
A sight so wondrous to behold!
She could live in the moment forever,
Queen of a world made of snow.

Alone! She did it alone!
With no help whatsoever.
Who needs grace when the body is strong,
Or rest when you have endurance like her?

Alas, the elation settled
It was time to head down.
Summits can be cold places,
Especially when there's no one around.

Beyond the freezing wind,
Was another chill that came from within.
One she had experienced before,
Yet tried her very best to ignore.

She conquered the mountain without a guide,
Memorised its dangers and traps.
It would have been impossible to feel any pride,
If she had followed while someone else led.

Many offered help before,
But of course, all they wanted was a share of her glory.
Finally, the glory was all hers!
The Hiker who will go down in his(her) story!

The sun was starting to set,
Yes, it was time to head down.
Summits can be cold places,
Especially when there's no one around.

She peeked over the other side,
Preparing for the descent.
It was a deep dark valley,
That seemed to extend

Hundreds and hundreds of miles,
Into a never-ending abyss.
She knew the climb up would be tough,
But never thought going down would be like this.

Then she took a step
Just her now, alone.
Into the darkness that stretched on forever,
Falling into the valley that echoed within her.