Author Joan Warren – Nature and Acme

Standing at the base of the mountain,
waiting to start the climb.
Rainbow colors abound –
red, yellow, green, blue, and violet.
See and feel their message.
Breezes blow –
cool, fresh air, refreshing.
Breathe deeply, and be invigorated.
Birds sing early morn songs,
chirping, cawing, soaring above.
I watch, listen, learn, and
make a firm decision to
climb to the summit.
On the far side of the open field,
a gently sloping path starts upwards.
It is a challenging path.
If you cannot see it,
Ask the question, What do I want?
Think, search and find.
It is waiting, the path that curves around
the back of the mountain out of sight.
Am I ready? Are you
ready to start the climb to the summit?
Walk on, courageous, confident,
optimistic, eating the tempting
red berries;
Feeling passion, enthusiasm, and vitality.
Contemplate,
One must move on – momentum.
Let go of the day’s challenges
and bask in the ‘now.’
The climb to the summit has started.
It is well on the way.
It is steeper now, climbing past colors,
Yellow is now distant; red has passed,
and green, that lush and beautiful green
surrounds you. Growth, renewal,
mental clarity and optimism restores
the depleted energy.
Suddenly there are open spaces
and brilliant blue skies.
I have reached the summit.
Clarity of thought,
confidence, poised and self-assured,
Intense vivacity and vision are unfettered.
There is inner truth and peace,
awareness of letting go,
and harmony reigns.
I hear the still, small voice within
and joie de vivre now.

At first, I called this poem The Summit, but later discovered too many poems called that, so I changed the name. The new names reflect more accurately what this poem means.

Summit refers to the highest peak.

Acme means the highest point or stage.

Did you know?
“In Greek, acme meant a mountain peak, but in English, we hardly ever use it in the physical sense. Instead, we speak of someone’s new job as the acme of her career, or of a certain leap as the acme of classical dance technique.” (www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/acme)