Rungs

A poem is like a ladder

Always going down

down

down

down

down

descending

down

down

like rungs on a board

notes on a sheet

moving down

always stationary

moving down

down

to a destination

only reached

by going back up again.

why are life’s rungs like a poem

if one cannot go back down

why can I not return to that time

when life was simple

when life was easy

when the ladder spoke to me

I will return to the rhythm of my upbringing

That silent stepping up the rungs

Slowly learning how to climb

Slowly learning what a fall is like

And finding each rung going higher

Supported by the rungs underneath.

So on my ladder, since I’m still young

I’ll keep going up

Up

Up

Up

Onwards and

Up, learning, striving, and ever reaching,

For my next rung.