SO LIVE

Chicago Lakes, Colorado, August 2019. Copyright © Michael D. Warden. All Rights Reserved.

SO LIVE

there are places

on mountains

that dare you

to live

secret

hidden places

you cannot see

from the valley

dead-end box canyons

treacherous crevasses

ledges

so thin and steep

they seem

more thread

than stone

it doesn’t matter

when you arrive

at them

that you hoped

for a broader way

for they

are the way

the only way

for you to go

if you want to live

so live

step slow and quiet

up to that line

beyond which

there is no return

say a prayer

and go

trusting

the moment

your foot

breaches

the threshold

you have already

become

something new