The Hike

You look at the mountain range,
anxiety gripping at your neck.
The sky closing up in anticipation
as if it knew you were going there.

You leave the car somewhere near by,
getting out as the first drops fall.
When you finally start to walk,
Your last thought is to not think at all.

Your eyes browse the landscape,
lots of data rushing to the brain
and providing the amazing stimuli
You could barely wait to feel again.

Absent mindedly you listen to the drops
falling on each leave and each rock.
The splashing steps of little creatures
making music out of small ponds.

The rain caresses your skin, following
improbable paths along your curves.
creating an intricate dialog
with the pumping of your heartbeat.

Dancing languidly with the flow
of the blood in your vessels,
mingling with the sweat coming
from every pore of your skin.
Then the breeze blows it away,
leaving you cold and shivering.

You walk, feeling the pressure
of the ground under your soles,
propagating small shock waves
from heels up to hair curls,
masterfully using your bones
as instruments in percussion tunes.

Your gravity center fluctuates,
Arms in pendulum as legs carry on,
keeping the balance and setting the pace,
each one a conductor's baton.

The heart starts accelerating
its rhythm to catch up with them
and provide the needed blood and oxygen
to the muscles and the brain.

The hypophysis expells small drops
of endorphins inside your veins,
relaxing and lowering the stress
from your exhausted inner workings
While enhancing your five senses,
and awareness of the surroundings.

You follow that cycle countlessly,
all the way to the gorgeous summit.
Then you turn, looking at the track
you painfully conquered once more,
wondering if some day you will
be brave enough to not go back.

NightHiker, February 2004.

Voltar